Horton nurse thanks community for help raising £20K

A nurse who works at the Horton General Hospital has thanked her family, friends and the local community for their incredible support of her fundraising.

Dayle Kinch, who works as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Horton, was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.

Since her cancer diagnosis she has undergone surgery and many rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, looked after at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford and the Brodey Cancer Centre at the Horton.

Dayle started working at the Trust (now Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) 30 years ago, and has spent most of those years based at the Horton.

Inspired by the care she has received and her first-hand knowledge of the hospitals, Dayle decided she wanted to fundraise to provide some additional equipment to help other local patients.

She explains:

"The personalised care I have had has been really special. It's felt tailor-made just for me, with such kindness. The team at the Brodey Centre are so incredibly friendly and caring, yet professional throughout - so I really wanted to thank everyone involved and fundraising seemed like a good way to do this.

"I am fortunate to have the most wonderful family and friends and they embraced the idea and we set ourselves the ambitious target of raising £20,000.

"Over the last year everyone has worked so hard to raise this money - doing car boot sales, quiz nights and charity evenings, and we even had 28 people climb the Three Peaks - all to help raise this money so we could say thank you.

"The support and generosity I've had from my parents, my family, friends and the local community has been fantastic. It's hard to put into words what it means but I am so incredibly grateful for what they've all done and so proud of what we've achieved. Knowing they were doing it for me has meant the world."

Dayle has asked that the funds provide two cooling caps for the unit. These are used during chemotherapy to help minimise hair loss, a side-effect that can deeply affect cancer patients.

She continues:

"Having worked in the hospitals I've always been very aware how upset many patients get when they lose their hair, and it was something I also really worried about. I think it's because the hair loss - particularly of eyebrows and eyelashes - marks you out so clearly as a cancer patient, which means people immediately start treating you differently. It might seem trivial when you're facing all the other fears that come with cancer, but it's not - it's about losing your identity really, being a blank face that you don't recognise any more.

"So I am so thrilled that we've raised enough money for two cooling caps - they are something tangible and practical that will benefit hundreds of local people in the years to come.

"As a nurse I am very aware of how many of the extras in our hospitals are provided through generous donations, so I've been really pleased to help support the Horton General Hospital Charity in this way and make a real difference for the Brodey Centre that has looked after me so well."

Sister for the Brodey Cancer Centre, Lisa Aston, said: "This incredible support has really overwhelmed the whole team at the Brodey Centre. It means such a lot to us all.

"Dayle's friends and family have worked so hard to raise these funds. To have a group of 28 taking part in the Three Peaks climb is just incredible, and added to that there are all the other innovative fundraisers they've done. It's so impressive and we know how hard they have all worked to raise over £20,000.

"Dayle has asked that the funds are used to purchase two cooling caps to help other cancer patients at the Brodey Centre. They  can help many people avoid the distressing hair loss that comes with some cancer treatment and we know this really means a lot to our patients.

"Dayle is a nurse, a colleague and a friend and we are all truly humbled by this a generous act that will help so many families for years to come. The words 'thank you' just don't seem enough."

If you would like to support Dayle's fundraising efforts for the Brodey Cancer Centre, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thebrodeybunch

or contact Horton General Hospital Charity: 01865 743 444.