Haven Breast Cancer Support Centre Patient Wins HEART UK Charity Champions Competition

LONDON - Sept. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- Hereford, September 3, 2013 – HEART UK, the cholesterol charity, has selected Pat Williams as the 2013 Charity Champion for her inspiring fundraising for the Haven Breast Cancer Support Centre after suffering from the disease herself.

HEART UK teamed up with Welch’s Grape Juice to search for the UK’s most inspiring charity champions and winner Pat will receive £1000 for The Haven, her charity of choice.

Pat, who works as an office administrator for CIS Ltd, was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago; when she went for her mastectomy doctors discovered that the cancer had already spread to her liver and spleen. It then later went to her pelvis, lungs and now bowel.

Pat, 54, explained: “After being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing six months of chemotherapy and developing a blood clot and carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands, I began to feel very low. I was referred to The Haven in Hereford who restored my positive outlook and I felt revitalised and determined to live life to the full.

“I started with a one mile swim in the Lake District. It was a massive challenge for me, not just because I have cancer but because I suffer from arthritis and usually walk with a stick. Last November I organised a charity ball, the Three Peaks Challenge, pamper evenings, conker championships and friends running half marathons – all in the name of raising money for breast cancer and The Haven Centre.

“I feel very honoured to have won the award. The whole purpose of my various fundraising activities was to try to help continue the brilliant work of all the staff at The Haven in Hereford and to help others, as The Haven has helped me.”

HEART UK’s Ambassador Emma-Jane Brown, Chief Executive Jules Payne and partner Welch’s Grape Juice UK Country Manager Malcolm Parkinson, selected Pat as winner of their competition.

Jules said: “We had so many deserving applicants all with different inspiring stories to tell but Pat’s story stood out because she never gave up and despite her serious illness, she was always thinking of the next fundraising idea.”

Pat will collect her engraved trophy and cheque for £1000 on September 3 at The Haven in Hereford and will donate the money to the centre as a thank you for the treatment she received whilst there.

HEART UK has been searching for moving stories where fundraisers have gone the extra mile to support their chosen charity and have made a big difference. They received over 50 applications that put forward poignant stories of fundraisers that had dedicated their time to charity.

There will also be 10 runner-up prizes of Welch’s Grape Juice vouchers and the remaining applicants will receive HEART UK Redlaces and pedometers.

NOTES TO EDITORS

HEART UK was formed in 2002 following a merger of The Family Heart Association (FHA) and the British Hyperlipidaemia Association (BHA).

HEART UK - The Cholesterol Charity - promotes healthy hearts and better lives by:

·          helping and supporting individuals, families and health professionals to understand and control cholesterol conditions and other heart risks

·          promoting education and research to improve identification, prevention, treatment and care of cholesterol and lipid conditions

·          working in partnership with government, the NHS, industry and other charities

·          promoting best practice in addressing inherited and non-inherited cholesterol conditions

Six in 10 adults in the UK have raised cholesterol. Over 120,000 people in Britain have a form of inherited high cholesterol called Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) which can cause premature death as those as young as 30 – and only 15% of those with the condition are known.

People wishing to find out more about FH should contact: HEART UK on the helpline - 0845 450 5988, or visit www.heartuk.org.uk

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