Two bereaved families who lost a loved one to the same cancer have come together to create a stunning Northumberland retreat for children battling the disease.
Hexham teenager Jessica Robson lost her life to sarcoma in 2014 at the age of 18, but not before setting up her own charity with the dream of building a lodge for young people experiencing the same ordeal as her.
Three years later, 33-year-old Blyth dad Richie Matfin also passed away from the disease, after winning hearts with his ‘Cancer Chancer’ blog, which detailed his journey through chemotherapy and decision to take control of his own hair loss.
Now the families of these two inspirational people have come together to create a lasting legacy for both of them.
The project, called Jess’s Dream, has been inspired by Jessica Robson who in 2010, aged just 14, was diagnosed with alveolar sarcoma.
Following chemotherapy treatment, Jessica underwent an operation to have the tumour removed, resulting in needing the use of a wheelchair.
Further scans found shadows on Jessica’s chest, which resulted in further treatment.
However, the chemotherapy Jessica underwent was unsuccessful and, after celebrating her 18th birthday, she passed away on May 16 2014.
From her sick-bed she set up the charity Jessica’s Sarcoma Awareness to help other young people fighting the disease, one of her wishes was to raise enough money to buy a lodge so that children and teenagers undergoing cancer treatment could spend time relaxing and enjoying quality family time with loved ones.
The purchase of the land near Haltwhistle was funded by the Robson family following the sale of their home, and the construction of the lodges has been made possible by the fundraising efforts of Jessica’s charity.
Their stories came together when Richie’s brother Russell got in contact with Jessica’s parents Julie and Terry after his wife saw a charity van for Jessica’s Sarcoma Awareness.
“It struck me because it was the same cancer that my brother had,” said Russell, 32.
“We got talking to them about Jessica, and I told them about my brother.”
As a builder by trade, when Russell heard about the lodges, he jumped at the chance to help.
The dad-of-four, who owns Gosforth Property Services, has been building the lodge since October, and in just a few weeks it will be ready to welcome its first families.
“The whole place means a lot to us. It’s a really nice place,” said Russell.
During her illness, Jessica and her family spent time together in a caravan on the Northumberland coast.
Julie has previously said: “It will allow children and teenagers fighting cancer and their families to have free breaks to spend quality time together and create everlasting memories.
“Jessica was never selfish, always smiling and never gave up. She didn’t deserve this awful disease, but I want Jessica’s spirits to live on, even if her body doesn’t. We are one proud family and I want everyone to know what an inspiration she was.”
In 2016 Richie Matfin spoke to ChronicleLive about his decision to blog about his cancer journey.
He said: “After I’d been diagnosed, when I started looking around the internet there was nothing, I thought, that helped anyone. I’m trying to raise awareness of sarcoma because I thought it was just a pulled muscle at first.
“I also just wanted to have somewhere I could share what was happening to me and people can see how I’m doing.”
He passed away in June 2017, leaving behind his eight-year-old son Alfie. Richie’s family have continued to fundraise in their son’s memory on behalf of Maggie’s cancer charity and Sarcoma UK.
