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Juliet Hardy-Wilson is taking on The Christie Skydive for The Christie Charity to say thanks for her and her mum’s treatment at the hospital. On the weekend of Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May 2024, Juliet and other thrill-seeking members of team Christie will jump out of a plane at 11,000 feet.
In August 2016, Juliet was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump. She was completely shocked and devastated by the diagnosis as she was just 48 at the time and otherwise healthy. She said she had so many questions running through her mind – how would she tell her family and was she going to die?
Juliet was referred to The Christie for treatment for her breast cancer. She had surgery, followed by a 4-week course of daily radiotherapy at The Christie at Oldham. Juliet said the staff she met at The Christie were like angels. Although she was initially scared of the treatment, they managed to put her at ease, and relaxation treatment and physiotherapy at The Christie also helped with stress.
Since then, Juliet’s cancer has been in remission, and she’s had several years of clear mammograms. She said she wouldn’t still be here without The Christie – either physically or mentally.
As well as Juliet being a former Christie patient, she also has another recent connection to the hospital. Last year, her mum was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This was a huge shock to Juliet and her family – despite being 79, her mum was never really ill.
After her diagnosis, Juliet’s mum was extremely poorly. She had to take a lot of tablets and Juliet said there were a lot of bumps in the road during her treatment. Despite this, Juliet said her mum got a lot of comfort from knowing that The Christie Hotline service was available 24 hours a day.
Juliet’s mum had a few inpatient stays at The Christie, including over the Christmas and New Year period. Juliet said all of the staff did their best to make it feel extremely festive, with presents and festive food.
After 8 months of chemotherapy, Juliet’s mum has recently had the amazing news that her cancer has gone into remission. Juliet puts this down to the amazing treatment and care that she had at The Christie.
To give something back for both her and her mum’s care, Juliet decided to take on The Christie Skydive for The Christie Charity.
“I have signed up for the Skydive for The Christie! They have been a huge part of my family’s life over the last few years, so I wanted to give something back to them.
“Whilst I am looking forward to it, I think I am equal parts excited and petrified; but then isn’t the saying: ‘do something every day that scares you’? This definitely meets that criteria!
“No one ever wants to hear the words ‘you’ve got cancer’, but scarily 1 in 2 of us will.
