A WOMAN who has raised more than £27,000 for a lung cancer charity has been recognised with a special award.
Jane Holmes from Ffarmers, near Lampeter, travelled to Liverpool last month along with her husband Steven for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Star Awards.
Jane said she was delighted to be nominated and surprised to be shortlisted for one of the top awards but she was in disbelief when her name was read out as the winner of the Professor Ray Donnelly Special Recognition Award.
This award is given to “a group or individual who has shown extraordinary commitment to the charity” and named after the pioneering lung surgeon who founded the charity in 1990.
Jane was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in 2014 at the age of only 43 and given a poor prognosis.
To hear the words “inoperable, incurable and terminal was a complete shock and a numbing experience” especially since Jane was a fit, non-smoking female in her 40’s.
Jane didn’t however let the diagnosis stop her push to spread awareness of the disease, challenge the stigma that it is only a smokers disease and also started fundraising for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, the only national charity dedicated to Lung Cancer.
After intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Jane was fortunate to find a surgeon who would operate to remove part of the lung containing the tumour which was a major step forward to curative treatment. Jane had had a recurrence and more treatment in 2017, but incredibly has had no evidence of disease for over 5 years now and her recent scans were clear.
The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation recognised Jane’s incredible journey over the years and unwavering commitment to the charity despite dealing with her treatment and terminal diagnosis.
The charity said: “She has taken part in several awareness campaigns for them as well as many media interviews.
“A natural in front of the camera, her message is always understated yet powerful. In short, she is strength personified and continues to go above and beyond for our charity”.
Reacting to receiving the award, Jane said: “It was humbling to hear so many personal and inspiring stories at the awards ceremony but also uplifting to know that the charity is going from strength to strength. There are new campaigns, research projects and national screening trials underway.”
Jane is however acutely aware of her privileged position of her current health, as well as living with a terminal Lung Cancer diagnosis for almost 9 years.
Not everyone is so lucky and she takes nothing for granted.
She said: “We both have met and lost many new friends along the way, which has always been tough and sobering.”
Jane has always said that she won’t ‘be’ ill unless she ‘feels’ ill - a diagnosis or ‘label’ won’t stop her from doing something - even when she had a partially collapsed lung one month before her Ironman 70.3 event last year. Jane’s fundraising efforts now see her total at around £27,500 and is looking for her next challenge. Jane’s fundraising link is justgiving.com/fundraising/janeholmes-rclcf