ILMINSTER PRESS
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Edition Number 29
FANTASTIC SANDRA PARSONS AND WENDY BIRD RAISE £1,200 FOR BREAST CANCER NOW CHARITY << TURN TO PAGE 7 FOR FULL STORY RNLI PAYS TRIBUTE TO JOAN OLDS WHILE VIRTUAL QUIZ RAISES MONEY FOR THE CHARITY << TURN TO PAGE 6 FOR FULL STORY OOPS! MIND YOUR LANGUAGE LINDA! LOCAL COUNCILLOR APOLOGISES FOR HER FOUR-LETTER EXPLETIVE IN ZOOM MEETING >> TURN TO PAGE 22 FOR FULL STORY ANGIE BLACKWELL, OF COTTAGE FLOWERS, IS DRUMMING UP SUPPORT FOR A FANTASTIC RAFFLE TO HELP RAISE £7,000 TO FUND THE REPLACEMENT OF ILMINSTER’S AMAZING FLAGS WHICH GO UP IN THE TOWN CENTRE OVER THE SUMMER MONTHS. TURN TO PAGE 9 FOR FULL STORY
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COFFEE AND CAKE ‹‹ 11
Katie's walk of hope against brain cancer - please support her By Steve Sowden ilminsterpress@gmail.com PEOPLE will be stepping out in support of Ilminster mum-of-three Katie GalanWilkinson who is fighting an invisible illness – brain cancer. A Community Walk of Hope will be held on Saturday (September 26) in Ilminster from The Minster church in Ilminster from 10am to 4pm and it is hoped that lots of money will be raised for the Brain Tumour Research charity. Even if you cannot make the Community Walk of Hope or you do not pick-up this edition of Ilminster Press until after the event – please still donate to the cause by finding Katie’s online JustGiving page. Turn to Page 4 for more details. Katie, 36, is hoping to raise £2,740 which would be enough to fund at least one day’s world class research into brain tumours.
“From the outside there isn’t anything obvious which would indicate that I am living with a malignant brain tumour,” said Katie who is married to Daniel and mum to young children Sofia, Hugo and Mario. “However in my brain there is an unwanted enemy which is not only a threat to my life, but also a risk of damaging my personality, memory, communication skills, mobility and sight. Not to mention the possible problems with fatigue, depression, seizures and cognitive difficulties.” Since being diagnosed last summer Katie has undergone surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, radiotherapy to zap anything remaining and is currently on a 12-month course of chemotherapy. But Katie is a realist, as well as a strong and determined fighter who is not only battling the disease, but also trying to stay positive. “There is no cure for this type of cancer,”
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she said. “It is just a question of time before it grows back. When this happens it will be more aggressive than before and most likely more resilient against the chemotherapy drugs. “I have to try and stay as positive as possible. I have a young family and I want my illness to have a minimal impact on them. Like all parents, I want my children to have that carefree, happy and fun childhood without the worry of their Mummy being poorly. “People also mention how beneficial it is to have a positive mental attitude when battling a disease and I do believe that. But the realist in me knows that my best chance of survival relies on a cure.” And Katie added: “With your generous support we can come together as a community to continue to help fund the fight towards finding a cure for brain tumours.”
SOPHY'S IN PRINT ‹‹ 12
CHILDREN'S CARNIVAL MEMORIES ‹‹ 13-20
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