The Ilfracombe Magazine - January 2023 edition

Ilfracombe

pic: philip dutton

“This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.”

Taylor Swift

A word from the editor

Happy New Year one and all - and welcome to the first Ilfracombe Magazine of 2023! I trust you all had a fantastic festive season and that your new year’s resolutions are firmly underway (or at least in the column labelled ‘to do’). I know many of our readers use this magazine as a directory of trusted local traders - which is great! However this month I would also urge you to have a read of our articles as they cover some really important subjects. On page 12 we look forward to the local

council elections in May and how you can put yourself forward to become a member of the local council. If you feel strongly about local issues, then the council needs people like you! On pages 8 & 9 we’ve dedicated a double page spread to the story of brave local teenager Elena Cabrera who has spent the past two years battling ovarian cancer. Elena’s family own the Country Cousin’s language school in Ilfracombe and will be well-known to many people in the town. Her story is

one of real bravery - and every parents’ worst nightmare. However, thanks to the Teenage Cancer Trust, Elena received vital support which made her cancer journey far less lonely than it would otherwise have been. Please do take the time to read this article and understand how the charity’s important work supports young people like Elena. It’s something we would all want for our own children!

Leo The Ilfracombe M

pic: philip dutton

You could win a delicious Sunday roast dinner at the Lakeside Restaurant at Hidden Valley Holiday Park All you have to do is correctly identify the Ilfracombe street In this picture from Google Street View. Email your answer, name and full address to be in with a chance to win. Send it to us at: theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com

The winner of last month’s competition is Mandy Webster who correctly identified Langleigh Park. Congratulations!

brave Ilfracombe teenager urges people not to

A teenager from Ilfracombe who spent last winter undergoing cancer treatment for the second time is calling for people to support Teenage Cancer Trust, the charity that has helped her through her ordeal. In November 2020, Elena Espinosa Cabrera was 17 when she was diagnosed with ovarian germ cell cancer. Explaining how it all started, Elena said: “I was studying for an exam to get into medical school when I first felt a really uncomfortable pain in my right-hand side. I initially thought it was a muscle strain, but the pain got really unbearable. I don’t normally like to complain, but I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I called 111. They recommended that I go to A&E. By the time I got there, I was in so much pain that I was throwing up outside. The doctors thought that it might be my appendix, but people usually aren’t in that much agony with that. It was a Saturday, so I was given painkillers and referred for an ultrasound. I had my medical exam on the Monday and then ultrasound on the Tuesday. They found that I had a large cyst which was twisted around my ovary, I needed urgent surgery and a biopsy was taken. They

tested the tumour locally first in Devon and then it was sent to specialists in London. I was 17 at the time, so the doctors called my parents to say that it was cancerous, and they wanted to remove my right ovary. I had the operation the day before my 18th birthday in November (2020) and spent my birthday recovering. It wasn’t the 18th birthday which I’d hoped for.” Elena was still unwell and recovering that Christmas but felt lucky that she didn’t need to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy and was completely focused on getting through the operations and tackling her exams. But when the full impact of what had happened hit her, Elena

needed needed support. She said: “I started thinking about it all more and what I had been through dawned on me. My mental health had taken a dip and I had post-traumatic stress from the operations. I’d been introduced to Lorraine, Teenage Cancer Trust’s adopted Teenage Young Adult Clinical Liaison Nurse for North Devon, Torbay and Exeter, just before my second operation. Having already been introduced to Lorraine, I knew that I could turn to her. We started talking weekly over the phone. She was there to listen to my feelings and give me advice. She asked me questions which prompted me to think about things differently. As well as talk-

forget about young people with cancer this winter

ing about the cancer, we also talked about everyday things like my family, and she gave me relationship advice. Lorraine got to know me and remembered the things which were important to me. I was worried that I was alone, but she told me that that was not uncommon. I thought that I was being irrational, so knowing that other people out there were feeling the same way as me, helped me feel a lot better. Lorraine also invited me to meals with other young people around Exeter who had been through cancer. Talking to them reassured me that other people had been through similar things and had similar thoughts.” After finishing her A-Level exams, Elena felt it was

time to move on and get on with her life post-cancer and said goodbye to Lorraine as she headed to Edinburgh to study medicine. But in August 2021, she started experiencing some worrying symptoms. She said: “I became breathless, and I had a cough that wouldn’t go away. It got to the point where I couldn’t walk up the stairs without stopping every few steps. I waited for a GP appointment and was transferred to A&E. I rang my mum to say that I wasn’t sure what was happening, and I was scared. She got the first flight to Edinburgh. Initially, they only told me that I had pulmonary embolisms, which I thought sounded really serious. The same night, they told me that

I might have lymphoma or my metastatic ovarian germ cell cancer might have come back. I went into my biopsy the next day hoping that it was the ovarian germ cell cancer again. When they told me it was the same cancer I was reassured. That may sound weird that I was grateful for that, although it was now metastatic. A second type of cancer less than a year later would have felt even more unlucky. I had more treatment up until Christmas Eve in 2021, before I would then start a round of new chemo in the new year.” Elena’s treatment is ongoing but she’s keen to get her life back on track as soon as possible. She said: “I have been able to start studying again. I’m grateful to have had Lorraine’s support. Without her I think things would have been so much lonelier. Cancer wasn’t something I expected at my age and then suddenly it was a huge part of my life. Lorraine allowed me to realise that other people go through the same thing at my age, so I didn’t feel so alone.”

To donate to Teenage Cancer Trust’s Winter appeal please visit www.teenagecancertrust.org/donate

Care about ‘Combe? Why not become a councillor?

Residents in Ilfracombe who are passionate about the town and the issues that affect it are being encouraged to put themselves forward to be a councillor.

North Devon will go to the polls in May 2023 for district and parish elections and those thinking of putting themselves forward as a candidate are being encouraged to find out more about what it means to become a district councillor. North Devon Council is holding an event on Wednesday, 18th January for people considering standing in the district council elections. The event at Brynsworthy Environment Centre will give people an understanding of what the role involves and an opportunity to ask any questions about it, and it can be attended in person or virtually. Leader of North Devon Council, Councillor David Worden, said: “We have more than 98,000 residents in North Devon and as councillors the decisions we make affect their lives in countless ways.

As a councillor it is vitally important to stand up for residents, understand the issues and concerns they face and take action. North Devon Council can only be as effective, relevant and vibrant as those who are

elected to run it. It needs councillors who are energetic and engaged, with a commitment to local people and a passion for change.”

The prospective candidates event starts at 6pm on Wednesday, 18 January in the Barum room at Brynsworthy Environment Centre. To confirm your attendance at the event in person or virtually, email

memberservices@northdevon.gov.uk or phone

01271 388253 by Monday

16 January 2023. A guide has also been produced for people interested in finding out more about becoming a councillor. This can be found on the council’s elections page at www. northdevon.gov.uk/council/ voting-and-elections/election-diary.