Seven former young cancer patients from Norfolk and Hertfordshire met Prince William and Kate Middleton during a special royal gala performance of Thursford’s Christmas Spectacular in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust late last month.
Incorporating singing, dancing, magic and ventriloquism, Thursford’s annual Christmas concerts attract thousands of visitors each year.
This unique fundraising event raised an impressive £35,000 and was a fantastic finale to two years of hard work by all members of Teenage Cancer Trust’s East Anglia Appeal volunteer board, who have helped to raise more than £2million. Proceeds from the night will go towards the construction of the first state-of-the-art specialist cancer unit for young people aged 13-24 at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The unit is costing the charity £2.5 million to complete and will be a direct result of the generous donations from people in the East Anglia region.
Rosie Van Raalte, Charlotte Loader, Bethany Skipper, Kirsty Tindal, Adam Brown, Henry O’Lone and Lucy Smith, explained in their meeting with Prince William and Miss Middleton that during their cancer treatment they were often placed on either children’s wards with babies and young children or on adult wards alongside elderly patients, since there are currently no Teenage Cancer Trust facilities available in the region.
Simon Davies, Chief Executive of Teenage Cancer Trust said of the meeting: “We feel incredibly privileged that both Prince William and Miss Middleton gave up their valuable time and lent their support to Teenage Cancer Trust’s fundraising appeal. We also thank John and Barbara Cushing who own Thursford Christmas Spectacular for generously donating all the proceeds from the special evening. The support we have received from across East Anglia over the past few years has been phenomenal and we know our new unit at Addenbrooke’s will make a big difference to young people in their fight against cancer.”
