Inspirational former cancer patient supports comfort box at Wrexham Mealor Hospital
An inspiring 23-year-old has joined forces with healthcare professionals and other previous patients of the Shooting Star Unit in Wrexham to launch a comfort box for new patients receiving chemotherapy treatment.
Grace Parry was just 19 years old when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, an uncommon cancer typically affecting lymph nodes in people aged 20-40. She documented her journey on social media, talking about her treatment and also to raise awareness of the cancer.
Grace received six months of chemotherapy on the Shooting Star Unit at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, and then two weeks of radiotherapy at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd before being given the all-clear.
Talking about her diagnosis, Grace said: “After being diagnosed in January 2019, I had a positive outlook and an ‘I can do this’ mindset.
“It was because of this mindset that I had set myself two goals; one, to complete my treatment and two, raise lots of awareness and money in the process.
“With the help of my amazing friends, family and even strangers, my two goals were complete.”
Along with her three sisters, Grace set out to raise some money to thank the Unit for their care, originally aiming to raise £150, the four ended up raising over £10,000 for various causes.
In 2020, half of the money raised was spent on 100 of The TREATment Bags which were bags of comforting items given out to new patients on the Shooting Star Unit.
I didn’t have anything like this when I was receiving treatment on the Unit, I felt as though something was missing, which is why I purchased The TREATment Bags for the Unit. The feedback from staff was amazing, patients really enjoyed the bags and staff wanted them to continue after they’d ran out.Grace Parry
Although the bags went down a treat, they were difficult to store on the Ward, and so the Star Box was born.
Due to launch at the end of April, the Star Box will be given to new patients on the Shooting Star Unit to provide them with some useful information and little bit of comfort as they embark on their cancer journey.
Thanks to various sponsors, donors and volunteers, the £15 boxes have been made possible. The team of volunteers are planning on fundraising to ensure these become a permanent fixture on the Unit.
To support Grace and the Star Box Team, please click here.
