With the help of her young sons, an Easington Lane mum has raised more than £15,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support - even as she's been fighting breast cancer herself and dealing with the anxiety that diagnosis has exacerbated.
Sammy Jo Noble, a care worker and former nurse at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, was diagnosed with breast cancer aged just 30 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Though she's responded well to treatment including an operation and radiotherapy - she will need to take medication for the next decade.
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But that's not stopped her - with the help of Josh, 11, and Ben, 15, from fundraising. Between them, they've raised close to £15,000 for cancer support and the NHS.
Most recently, a charity ball at Ramside Hall in County Durham saw 200 guests help add to a total of £6,750 that's been donated to Macmillan - with two years' worth of "Sober October" and raffles also contributing.
Prior to this, sons Ben and Josh - with the help of grandparents Lorraine and Joe Woods - got involved in fundraising activities like cake-making and a sponsored cycle 16 miles to Hartlepool to raise money for the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, which is where Sammy Jo used to work.
Sammy Jo explained how cancer highlighted her mental health worries.
"It’s been incredibly hard as I suffer from anxiety," she said. "And although I was told I could have a scan in lockdown I put it off for a period of time as I was terrified the cancer might have spread and worried about the implications for my family."
Luckily though, this was not the case, but the family was shocked again when Sammy Jo's grandad himself was diagnosed with cancer - she said this had "devastated" the family.
Sammy Jo added that having to stop working while she's been ill has been incredibly hard, but she said it highlighted how much support Macmillan provide.
"I had to stop work in the residential home whilst I underwent treatment and was fortunate that Craig has been able to work so we didn’t need some of the financial assistance on offer at Macmillan like the support grants," she said.
"I would definitely have applied for one had we needed too; so I would urge people to reach out to Macmillan if they are struggling with finances particularly at the moment with the energy crisis deepening."
Discussing the help she's had from Chloe Shaw of the Join The Dots programme which Macmillan runs to help those with cancer, Sammy Jo said: "I wanted to get back to work quickly but because of my anxiety Chloe told me not to put too much pressure on myself and to take smaller steps.encouraging me to take up a beautician course rather than throw myself straight back into my full time care role straight away.
"I would say to anyone living with anxiety, especially following a cancer diagnosis like mine to talk to someone about it. Chloe at Joining The Dots has supported me initially over the phone during Covid for more than a year and I’ve gone from needing to talk to her once a week to now having monthly catch ups as I’ve made a lot of progress."
Chloe added: "A cancer diagnosis can be a trigger for all sorts of other issues and Sammy Jo was understandably worried about her family and the extra worry triggered insomnia and anxiety, I simply reminded her to focus on each day, to take the pressure off and hopefully gave her support beyond her family where she could talk in confidence."
Anyone in need of cancer support can call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, which is open 7 days a week, 8am-8pm, or visit Macmillan’s Online Community. To contact Joining The Dots call 0800 8766887 or visit: https://www.joiningthedots.info
