On Friday 30 October, David and Lottie are walking barefoot across a bed of embers burning at roughly 650°C. There’s professional training beforehand. They’ve been told it helps.
It’s at the Fingerpost Pub in Pelsall, Walsall, from 6pm. The target is £500 between them, and their £20 entry fees are already paid, so every pound given goes to the charity.
Why this charity
We work closely with Ian Bowley, the Trust’s CEO, which is a large part of how this came about.
The Trust raises money for CyberKnife, and has brought in over £1 million for it so far.
What CyberKnife does for patients
It’s radiotherapy delivered by a robotic arm, from hundreds of angles, accurate to a fraction of a millimetre. What that means for the person on the table:
- No incision and usually no general anaesthetic. Most people go home the same day.
- Treatment in 1 to 5 sessions instead of 30 or more.
- It tracks the tumour as the patient breathes, so it can treat things that move. Lung, liver, pancreas.
- Much less damage to the healthy tissue around the tumour, so fewer side effects.
- It can reach tumours that surgeons have already ruled out as inoperable.
It’s available on the NHS at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where more than 4,500 patients have now been treated with it.
What your money does
It funds machine time, the information patients get when they’re handed a diagnosis and no idea what comes next, and accommodation for families travelling across the country for treatment.
The Trust asks each walker to raise £100. David and Lottie are aiming a bit higher, hence the £500.
This is our third fundraiser for the Trust this year. The team ran the Cathedral to Castle 10 mile in April and raised £587.50, and the summer BBQ raised £512. This one involves less training and more fire.
If you’re able to give something, we’d be very grateful. Anything at all helps, and the small amounts add up faster than you’d think.
Sponsor David and Lottie on JustGiving
Photos will follow on 31 October, assuming they can still stand up.
The Stan Bowley Trust, registered charity number 1144398.
