Page 10 - Essex Mason (Issue 92)

Provincial

Young cancer patients across Essex
‘we have your back’

Story By Colin Felton
Provincial Charity Steward

ix-year-old Chloe Chandler from Little Dunmow
Shas courage stamped through every inch of her
young body. From the age of two she has been
fighting a rare form of cancer, a debilitating disease
which has caused painful lesions to form on her spine
and every part of her skeleton – and that battle is
still not over.
Chloe, a pupil at Fitch Green Academy, is facing
another year of intensive treatment and during that
time she will spend many days and weeks just sitting
in a hospital bed in common with hundreds of other
young people from across Essex.
It is the boredom and the mental anguish of being
away from home that makes fighting disease even
harder, but that’s about to change at all five of
our major hospitals across the county thanks to a
ground-breaking initiative by Essex based the Lennox
Children’s Cancer Fund and Essex Freemasons.
Hundreds of young people facing their own personal
challenges with life changing diseases and receiving
treatment at our major hospitals in Colchester,
Chelmsford, Basildon, Southend and Romford will
now receive back packs from the Charity, valued at
around £100 each and loaded with everything they
need to make their stay a little easier and slightly less
stressful
Essex Freemasons have provided some £23,000
in grant funding to ensure that the service can be
maintained for at least the next two years.
Vicky Nash, Family Support Officer for the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund, commented: “When children are diagnosed
with cancer, they are often immediately whisked from their local hospital to their nearest Principal Treatment Centre.
This happens so quickly that they and the parents are totally unprepared for what happens next which means they have
understandably failed to bring with them essentials such as toothpaste and toiletries and much more.”
“In many cases the children and parents will be in hospital for a long time and with Covid restrictions there is little or no
access to community areas making it more, mentally challenging for young people and their families. Our ‘We have you
back’ packs are designed to help overcome those problems – ensuring that the child patients and their parents have the
essentials they need and something to do to beat the boredom.”
The ‘We have your back’ packs are loaded with dozens of items from drink containers to board games, from colouring
books and journals to luxury blankets, socks, gloves, headphones, chargers and much more. According to Chloe’s mum
Victoria they have will really make a difference, helping to change lives of young cancer patients for the better.

“Essex Freemasons and our 8,000 members are very
much part of the diverse local community which is why
we were pleased to support this initiative which will be
operating at all of the major hospitals across the county,”
said Paul Tarrant, Provincial Grand Master for Essex
Freemasons.
“The Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund are doing
some wonderful work and I am delighted
that between us we will making lives easier
for hundreds of local youngsters faced with
fighting this dreadful disease.”

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