‘Mind blowing’ - South Shields mum’s surprise as cancer fundraiser approaches £18,000

Jo Shaw Pyke, a counsellor at South Tyneside’s Cancer Connections charity, has revealed her surprise after a fundraiser aimed at getting her cancer treatment that isn’t available in the UK raises thousands of pounds.

Doctors told the mum-of-two that she had an incurable form of mucosal melanoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer that in most cases has usually spread by the time it is diagnosed, at the end of 2023.

The 48-year-old’s diagnosis came just months after she married her husband, Jef, and since then, she has been on a mission to raise awareness about this form of cancer having never come across it in her career.

While Jo is on a mission to raise awareness, her friend, Karen Murray, set up a fundraiser to help Jo get access to TIL therapy - which she says could prolong her life.

At the time of writing, £17,867 of the £100,000 target has been raised and Jo has revealed to the Shields Gazette the outpouring of support that she has received.

She said: “To be honest, it is mind blowing and still quite emotional, I can’t even put it into words really - it just makes my heart melt.

“I attended a funeral after being invited by a family who I hadn’t even met before as they wanted to raise money for me and then another lady called Roselyn has reached out after she held a coffee morning where she raised a staggering amount of money for myself and another cancer charity.

“My friend who I’ve known for 20 years, Angela Tiffin, her granddaughter Lucy and friend Mina set up a stall outside of her house selling pop and raised quite a good amount of money.

“You just don’t realise how much you are loved and it is lovely to hear how much you’ve touched other people rather than having it said at your funeral.

“There is so many people to thank but it feels important to me that I am able to personally thank the people who are taking the time to do these things for me.”

As part of the fundraising efforts, Sarah Birrell, from Jarrow, has organised a charity night at the Hebburn Iona Social Club on Friday, October 11, as a way of giving back to Jo for helping her deal with her own breast cancer diagnosis.

The 51-year-old said: “I first met Jo 13 years ago and she has been my absolute rock. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today.

“I just want to give something back to her for all the help that she gave to me and I’ll continue fundraising for her until we get what we need.

“My heart goes out to Jo, my cancer is incurable but manageable in this country whereas for Jo, there is no treatment in the UK that can give her a prolonged quality of life.

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“This is why we are massively fundraising so the event at the Hebburn Iona Club has been put on, with everyone involved doing it for free.

“We’ve had multiple businesses reach out, Barbour have donated a jacket to be raffled and even smaller businesses have been donating things like vouchers.

“I urge people to come along and to make sure they bring their wallets and purses as we’ll be after their money to help Jo.”

The fundraising event at the Hebburn Iona Social Club, on Station Road, starts at 7.30pm tomorrow night (Friday, October 11) - with live music, karaoke, raffles and a tombola all set to take place.

You can view and donate to Jo’s fundraiser by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-donate-to-help-jo-medical-treatment.