A Masham teenager who was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer earlier this year is raising money for the charities who have been supporting her through her illness.
Lucy Verity, 19, was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in February and has been undergoing gruelling treatments ever since.
Over the next few months she will go through 14 chemotherapy sessions, radiotherapy and proton therapy at different hospitals across the north of England.
Rather than raise money towards her own treatment expenses, she decided to fundraise for the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Bone Cancer Research Trust, who have been supporting her over the past four months.
She set up her fundraiser on JustGiving last Saturday and has already reached £3,900, more than three quarters of her £5,000 goal.
Before becoming ill, Lucy was an avid sports player and loved to look after her animals in her home in Masham. She hopes to get back to this as soon as possible, and run her own fundraising events.
She said:
“We’re in a lucky position where we’re able to support ourselves to travel for my treatments; that’s why I chose to raise money towards these charities instead of for myself, as they have a great team of dedicated nurses and youth workers who helped me to not feel alone when I wasn’t allowed visitors in the hospital.”
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Her family and friends have been rallying around to raise money towards her goal. Her brother will be running 24 miles in 24 hours on June 19, and her friends and cousin will take part in the Leeds 12km Total Warrior in July.
Lucy and her family have given suggestions for people who want to set up their own fundraisers for the cause, such as coffee and cake mornings, clearouts or tombola raffles.
Ewing’s sarcoma is a rare form of bone cancer that can cause bone pain, tiredness and constant fever. For many the illness can go undiagnosed for a long time due to its rarity.
The Bone Cancer Research Trust aims to find a cure for this and other types of bone cancer through scientific research. You can find out more about Lucy’s fundraiser or donate here.