Amy and her Army triumph for the Chemotherapy Unit at Royal Preston

Penwortham mum-of-two Amy Mills has raised an entire army to fundraise for us!  ‘Amy’s Army’ consisted of volunteers who signed up to collectively walk the equivalent of the Great Wall of China (13,171 miles) and then back to Preston in support of Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, aged 30, in March 2020. Amy (who has, at the time of writing, undergone three surgeries, 18 weeks of chemotherapy and 15 radiotherapy sessions) and her walkers raised an incredible £12,342 with their challenge, and she asked that the funds be spent on something for the Chemotherapy Unit at the Cancer Centre at Royal Preston Hospital, as a thank you for her care. The money raised by Amy and her Army have now paid for more than half of a specialist piece of kit for the benefit of our chemotherapy patients – a SiteRite 8 ultrasound system, which cost a total of £23,000. The rest of the money to buy the equipment came from Rosemere’s general charitable funds. Our Chief Officer Dan Hill said: “As soon as Amy told us about her fundraising, we knew we had the perfect project for her to support. “The chemo ward had had a SiteRite 8 system on loan from its suppliers and staff were desperate to buy it because it makes the process of inserting PICC lines much quicker and less invasive, which is obviously really important when it comes to improving patient wellbeing and experience. In fact, patient feedback was so good we couldn’t let the system go back, and Amy and her army have helped us win our battle to keep it!” PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) lines are a way of delivering chemotherapy medicines intravenously. Once in place in the arm, they can stay in place for months so that patients having to undergo frequent chemotherapy are spared the pain of repeated needle sticks. Amy, who is married to Gareth with whom she has Henry (six) and Sammy (two) and was training to be an accountant before her diagnosis, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to support this project. I know it’s going to make a huge difference to hundreds and hundreds of patients every year as this ultrasound machine is the best and helps the nurse see exactly where the PICC line needs to go.” Thank you so much, Amy, and all involved, for the amazing support!