A FAMILY whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer aged 11 is backing CLIC Sargent’s Big Bucket Collection to raise funds for children and young people with cancer during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month this September.
Lauren Castello, from Tewkesbury, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma in July 2004 in her last year of primary school.
She went through chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, but died 12 months later.
Throughout her treatment, Lauren’s family was supported by CLIC Sargent, which provides vital emotional, practical and financial support for children and young people coping with cancer.
This September, the charity needs volunteers to hold Big Bucket Collections at supermarkets, shopping centres and other venues in Tewkesbury, across Gloucestershire, and the rest of the UK to help raise £150,000 for children and young people with cancer, and their families.
Dad Cass has been taking part in his own Big Bucket Collection for the last two years, raising more than £2,000 with the help of his friends, and he is encouraging others to do the same.
He said: “The year Lauren spent dealing with cancer was transformed by the help and support we received from CLIC Sargent, because we could stay at their Homes from Home, CLIC House in Bristol, because of our CLIC Sargent Social Worker who gave us moral support and, especially, because of our amazing CLIC Sargent Nurse who enabled Lauren to live a life which was as normal as possible.
"The support we received made a crucial difference, both to Lauren and to us, during Lauren’s final weeks.
"We could focus on being a family and making the most of our last summer together - and all of that was possible because the support from CLIC Sargent meant we didn’t have to worry about Lauren’s care or anything outside of our home.
"The money raised from Big Bucket Collections will help other families to receive the invaluable support that we did.
"A cancer diagnosis hits you massively but beyond that it’s important to be able to carry on living your life which CLIC Sargent helps you to do, you can’t put a price on that."
If you want to hold your own Big Bucket collection for CLIC Sargent, please register at www.clicsargent.org.uk/bigbucketcollection or call 0845 121 2495
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