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We are launching our Bauble Appeal this Christmas to ensure more patients and their families across the west of Scotland can be supported by our services.
Beatson Cancer Charity’s using the festive season to share positive stories of Hope, Celebrate, Thank and Remember to shine a spotlight on our Bauble Appeal.
Donate to the Bauble Appeal here
Everyone has their own reason to hang a Beatson Bauble. It may be to remember someone special, or to celebrate some good news. Perhaps you would like to thank the staff at The Beatson, or give hope to patients.
30-year old Errin Shaw from Inchinnan, Renfrewshire is celebrating being in remission this Christmas, as part of the Bauble Appeal.
WATCH: Bauble 2022: Errin's Story
Video
Errin was experiencing itchy skin for months before being diagnosed with a rare cancer called Grey Zone Lymphoma on 13th September 2021.
Errin said: “I was at TRNSMT in Glasgow Green, we were listening to Snow Patrol, and I actually thought I was having a heart attack.
“I turned to my husband Graeme and said ‘have I been stabbed?’ and he said no, so my mum picked us up. She took me straight to the Glasgow Royal and within four hours I was diagnosed with cancer.
“I was there for three or four nights then I went straight to the Beatson – so I never went home from TRNSMT for a month.”
Errin got married to her husband, Graeme, on 17th June 2021 and the couple live together in Paisley. Only three months later, Errin started chemotherapy, which consisted of 24 hour bags for five days. She then came off the bags for 7-14 days and started again. This regime continued five times. There were only ten days during an eight-month period that Errin wasn’t in the Beatson due to the complexity of her treatment.
PICTURED: Errin during her treatment at the Beatson
Errin said: “I had 606 hours of dose-adjusted e-poch chemo – it's not the most straight forward chemo. I was hooked up for five days in a row to my chemotherapy. I had that regime six times.”
Dose-adjusted e-poch chemotherapy is a chemotherapy combination used to treat certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Errin turned 30 in July this year and only one month before, she was on a day out with her sister in Edinburgh when she got an unexpected call.
“My phone rang and it was the Beatson. Every time my phone rang and it said ‘Beatson’ I’d always look at whoever I was with and say ‘get my bag packed’ because we knew it meant I was going back in.
“It was my lymphoma nurse, Michelle, and she said: ‘I can’t wait until your appointment on Monday to tell you this news. We’ve actually had to triple check it because we can’t believe your PET scan’s clear’.
“She said there was no detection of disease at that present moment. As you can imagine that was out the blue and from last year being told I wasn’t going to make the Christmas to being told that... It was a crazy moment.”
PICTURED: Errin after finding out she was cancer-free
Errin has since held a ball called the ‘Gingie Ball’ to celebrate her being in remission, which raised £5,375 for Beatson Cancer Charity.
She also plans to visit the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre on Christmas Day to hand out gifts to patients after experiencing being in the wards last Christmas.
Erin said: “There aren’t words for the Beatson, I wouldn’t be here without them.
“We've obviously raised thousands for the Beatson because being in there you experience firsthand just how amazing they are, they’re phenomenal.
“I can’t talk highly enough about them – from the auxiliaries to the porters to the café ladies... When you ring the bell and the whole café team cheer you on, the fundraisers who helped with my ball – everyone just wants you to do well when you go in there.”
Everyone has their own reason to hang a Beatson Bauble. It may be to remember someone special, or to celebrate some good news. Perhaps you would like to thank the staff at The Beatson, or give hope to patients.
By donating to the Beatson Bauble Appeal you will continue to provide care, love and hope to families this festive season and beyond.
Everyone who donates will receive two baubles in the post – one to hang on their own tree at home, and one to send back to be hung on the Beatson tree.
Rachel Mullin, Campaigns Officer at Beatson Cancer Charity, said: “We are delighted to be launching our Bauble Appeal with the support of some patients and family members who have been kind enough to share their story.
“They all have first-hand experience of the Beatson and the difference our charity’s services make to patients.
“We would be grateful for any support you can offer us this Christmas so we can continue to be there for patients and families across the west of Scotland.”
Please join in supporting Beatson Cancer Charity’s Bauble Appeal and hang a Beatson Bauble: www.beatsoncancercharity.org/bauble
You can also donate by texting BEATSON to 70460 to donate £10 or you can call 0141 212 0505.
