Afternoon tea raises £1,000 for breast cancer patients at QEHB

Elizabeth Woodward and her mother-in-law Susan have raised £1,000 for breast cancer patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham by hosting an afternoon tea for friends and family.

Susan has been receiving radiotherapy treatment at the hospital, after having a mastectomy at Solihull Hospital. When speaking of the care that she has received at the hospital, Susan said: “The staff are absolutely brilliant and have been throughout my treatment. The treatment has been excellent, I couldn’t fault it.”

Elizabeth was inspired by Susan’s treatment and wanted to give something back to the department. As a keen baker, her thoughts soon turned to hosting an afternoon tea party at her home in Hockley Heath.

The party took place in glorious sunshine over the August bank holiday weekend, with 40 people enjoying the delicious spread of food and drink, as well as a raffle, competitions and quizzes.

Elizabeth said: “It was a lovely day! The raffle was a great success thanks to the generosity of local businesses who donated prizes. Family members brought along some classic cars, and even a tractor, so it felt more like a village fete than an afternoon tea!”

Overall, the party raised an incredible £1,000. Elizabeth said: “I had initially wanted to raise £250 but I soon upped that target to £500. After the event, we had some more donations, including one for £200 which took the total to £1,000 which was really pleasing.”

Katy de Cothi, Fundraising Assistant at QEHB Charity, said: “Our thanks go to Elizabeth, Susan and all of their friends and family for raising such a wonderful amount of money to support breast cancer patients at the hospital.

“We are incredibly proud to support breast cancer patients at the hospital by funding equipment to help in the fight against breast cancer, as well as items that help to make treatment and its after-effects easier for patients.”

Last year, QEHB Charity launched the Bra First scheme which provides a free, specialist mastectomy bra for patients who have received a mastectomy or reconstructive surgery. This scheme was made possible thanks to the generosity of fundraisers such as Susan and Elizabeth.

Find out more about how QEHB Charity supports breast cancer patients here.