Press release 17 May 2022

A Christie nurse is taking part in this year’s Great Manchester Run to raise money to support The Christie charity.

Danielle Carney, aged 38, who works as an assistant practitioner in the haematology and transplant unit, has worked at The Christie for 20 years and seen how The Christie touches the lives of those who are treated and work there.

Danielle’s mum Debbie Marchington was treated at The Christie for 10 years before she passed away from breast cancer 12 years ago. Danielle has also seen 2 of her close colleagues treated in recent years so decided the time was right for her to challenge herself to offer her support.

She said: “A year ago, I couldn’t run to save my life. I started with a Couch to 5K when I joined a local running club and I’ve steadily improved from there. This will be the biggest run I’ve done so far, but the challenge is nothing compared to what I see patients go through on a daily basis.”

Danielle, who lives in Sale Moor and has a 9-year-old daughter, added: “The Christie is very important to me, not only personally, but professionally, and this is my way of saying thank you and doing my bit.”

Danielle will be joined on the day by haematology nurse Alethea Braden, aged 29, who lives in Withington. She said: “I work as a nurse in the haematology department and I want to help raise money for The Christie so it can continue to give great care and treatment to cancer patients.” 


Left to right: Alethea Braden and Danielle Carney

The Great Manchester Run takes place in the city centre on 22 May 2022. For more information, visit our Great Manchester Run 2022 page.

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.