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21 February 2018
Vol 25 ● Issue 8
www.champnews.com
BERYL’S PERSISTENCE HELPED HER BEAT ‘THE SILENT KILLER’
Now cancer survivor aims to raise awareness and funds for charity which supported her through ordeal
A CANCER survivor from West Lancashire is aiming to raise awareness of the rare form of the disease she suffered from and help the charity which supported her throughout her treatment. When Beryl Jones first felt what she descibed as a ‘pin prick feeling’ in her stomach she went to her GP and was told there was nothing to worry about. However when it started to wake her in the night the then 60-year-old went back to the doctor’s. This time the doctor could feel something and agreed to send her for a scan but said she would have to wait up to eight weeks for an appointment. Beryl, who is originally from Wales but moved to Burscough 42 years ago with husband Bill, decided that was too long to wait and instead arranged a private consultation at Renacres Hospital in Halsall where she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, otherwise known as bile duct cancer. Although considered rare, worldwide it is the second most common primary liver cancer and incidences are believed to be on the rise. It is known as ‘the silent killer’ as it is difficult to diagnose accurately and early, so by the time of diagnosis it is often too advanced for surgery - which is currently the only potential cure. Thanks to her persistence though Beryl was able
Established 40 Years
Beryl Jones and husband Bill supporting the AMMF cancer charity.
to undergo surgery at Aintree Hospital where the tumour was subsequently removed. Now she is determined to raise awareness of the disease and funds for the AMMF (the Alan Morement Memorial Fund) the UK’s only cholangiocarcinoma charity which supported her during her treatment. Recalling her fateful decision to persist in seeking
Hospital team’s pioneering operation
help, Beryl, now 71, said: “The symptoms were very vague. I kept getting a little tiny sensation, just like a pin prick. “I felt something in my tummy so I went to see a GP who said there was nothing to worry about but sent me for a blood test to be on the safe side and it came back normal. “Then it started to wake me in the night so a week later I went to see another GP who said he thought he could feel something and would send me for a scan but it would take six to eight weeks. “I couldn’t wait that long so, the next day I went to Renacres Hospital where an ultra sound found a mass on my liver. And after further scans eventually they found a big tumour on my liver. “Not waiting that six to eight weeks saved my life, absolutely. Every consultant I have seen has told me that.” To date, Beryl, who is a member of three local line dancing groups, has raised £14,000 for AMMF by organising line dancing socials. Her next fundraiser is a line dancing social to be held at the Lathom and Burscough Royal British Legion in Lord Street, Burscough on Saturday, March 10 starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 on the door and there will be a quiz, bingo and DJ.
Jill and Tony sign the register following their St Valentine’s Day wedding
Perfect fairy tale wedding day for love-struck OAPs IT was the perfect fairy tale ending for lovestruck pensioners Jill Cohen and Tony Warren when they tied the knot on St Valentine’s Day. Sixty-eight-year-old Jill from Ormskirk, and 76-year-old Tony were wed at Banks Methodist Church. And the beaming bride said the day “could not have been better” after the couple overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to find happiness. As reported in the Champion last week, former Ormskirk School teacher Jill was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1998 and by 2015 had been in a wheelchair for 10 years. But with medical help she fought to get her life back and is now in remission for her type of MS. She was also able to take up a volunteering job at Rufford Old Hall where she met former marine commando Tony from Hesketh Bank and the pair immediately hit it off. Tony was one of the advance reconnoitring party during the Falklands War and just last year he climbed to Base Camp 2 at Mount Continued inside
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