A kick-about for the Cancer appeal

Malcolm Westall was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in 2010 and was treated on a brand new piece of equipment funded by the hospital charity. Now, almost ten years later, Malcolm and his wife, Caroline, decided to raise money for the hospital who treated him.

In 2010, when Malcolm was first diagnosed with cancer, his wife Caroline was actually the one who spotted the lump which led to him being referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for treatment.

Malcolm and Caroline have fundraised in the past for the Cancer appeal at the hospital. In 2011 they donated a huge £1,455, in 2012 they donated £300 after a sing-a-long event in Northfield, and now they have donated another £506 after hosting a charity football match!

Beckie Knight, Administration Officer for Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, said: “Thank you so much to Malcolm and Caroline for your continued support for the hospital charity. They have raised an incredible amount of money over the years since Malcolm’s treatment and we are extremely grateful.

“The money raised will be spent on added extras throughout the cancer wards at the hospital to help make patients stays at the hospital more comfortable.”

The football match, which took place in August of this year at Austin Sports and Social Club in Northfield, raised money after Malcolm was the first to be treated on a brand new Monaco Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy planning system (IMRT) that the Charity funded back in 2010.

Pictured above: Malcolm Westall and his grandson at the charity football match

Since then, the hospital charity has been able to purchase more state-of-the-art machinery for cancer treatment as part of the Cancer appeal such as CyberKnife and the Tomotherapy machine.

More than 20 people took part in their charity football match with two teams battling against each other. Shane Westall, Malcolm and Caroline’s son, was the captain of one team, and the other team was the Conservative Club who haven’t played a match in more than 20 years!

The manager of the Sports and Social Club, Graham Beecham, very kindly donated the football kits that they played in.

Talking about the treatment he received, Malcolm said: “The team at the hospital is brilliant and I can’t thank the Charity enough for funding this fantastic piece of equipment that helped me return back to normal life quite quickly.

“Thanks to the machine that was purchased in 2010, no damage was made around the tumour and I am still so very grateful for the treatment I received almost ten years ago.”

To find out more about the Cancer appeal and how you can help us raise money for more pioneering treatment, please click here.