Teenager raises £5,000 through charity abseil

Phoebe Hedley, 17, from Cleadon, set up her fundraising page, ‘Not Just a Statistic’, while she was receiving chemotherapy for desmoid fibromatosis on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at the Great North Children’s Hospital.

Phoebe set herself the goal of raising £10,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust. Now in remission, she completed an abseil down the hospital with her sponsorship taking her halfway towards reaching her target.

The youngster said: “I’m so happy that I’ve reached the £5,000 mark. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far and helped me fundraise for a charity that is really close to my heart.

“Being diagnosed with cancer at such a young age was really isolating at first, but Teenage Cancer Trust have been a lifeline to me. I’ve made friends for life through the charity and it has made the whole experience a lot more bearable.”

Recently Phoebe attended a Teenage Cancer Trust conference, Find Your Sense of Tumour, with around 80 other current and former young cancer patients, looking at the issues young cancer patients face.

Phoebe said: “Going to Find Your Sense of Tumour was a great experience and I made lots of new friends who understood exactly what I’d been through. Everyone there has been through so much, yet everyone is so positive and has a laugh and a good time together.”

Anyone who would like to make a donation to Phoebe’s fund can visit https://www.justgiving.com/Phoebe-HedleyNJS.