Rachel Stevens, Christie fundraiser

Rachel Stevens was initially diagnosed with saliva gland cancer in 2013. She had treatment for this, and her cancer went into remission. But sadly, the cancer returned in 2019, and Rachel needed further treatment.

In 2020, Rachel was required to have a neck dissection – this is surgery on the neck to remove lymph nodes. She also attended The Christie for 30 sessions of radiotherapy.

Rachel’s treatment took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of restrictions relating to the pandemic, Rachel had to go to her appointments alone. This was extremely difficult as towards the end of her treatment, Rachel was unable to speak or eat.

One day when she was leaving The Christie, Rachel saw a leaflet for The Christie Charity Weekly Lottery. The Christie charity Weekly Lottery helps to directly fund clinical trials, cancer patient care and research. As well as this, it also gives players the opportunity to win up to £25,000.

Rachel decided to sign up for The Christie Charity Weekly Lottery to help give something back to The Christie. In June 2022, Rachel was delighted when she won £1,000 in the weekly lottery.

Rachel is also running the Great North Run to raise money for The Christie Charity. Rachel is hoping to run a personal best at the Great North Run, aiming to run the half marathon in less than 2 hours.

“The staff at the Christie were amazing. They were kind and supported and made me feel relaxed during the treatment. When I was in pain and struggling with the treatment and were caring. This support was invaluable as my husband was not permitted into the hospital because of COVID-19. The staff made it feel less of a lonely time.
“Following my treatment, I ran to aid my recovery. I set myself goals and milestones and was able to run my first virtual half marathon in August 2020, just 4 months after my treatment. I want to run the Great North Run for The Christie as I want other people to have the care and support that I had to enable them to also beat cancer.”

  - Rachel Stevens, Christie fundraiser

The Christie Charity only exists because of the fantastic support from all our amazing fundraisers. By playing The Christie Charity Weekly Lottery, you can help us keep making a big difference to our cancer patients and their friends and families.

Sign up for The Christie Charity Weekly Lottery today and you could be in with a chance to win £25,000!