A Huddersfield mum is holding a jazz and soul evening this August Bank Holiday in a bid to raise money for a charity that helped save her life.
Gayle Cruddace says she will forever be grateful to Cancer Research UK which also gave her the chance to extend her family.
Gayle, 45, of Almondbury, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 when she was just 33 after finding a lump the size of a ping pong ball on her right breast.
Given just a 3% chance of living to the age of 40, Gayle has beaten cancer and had the second child she had dreamed of having.
Gayle, who works in the Halifax branch of Barclays, said: “I didn’t feel unwell so getting diagnosed with cancer came as a huge shock. I was told it had spread to my lymph nodes and my chance of survival didn’t look good.”
Because her cancer was grade 3, which means it was fast growing and more likely to spread, doctors wanted to act quickly and start treatment as quickly as possible.
Gayle underwent a radical mastectomy and was scheduled for chemotherapy and radiotherapy to fight the disease.
The immediate concern for her was that any treatment could leave her infertile and she was desperate to extend her family.
Gayle was referred for a pioneering treatment of Zoladex, which stops the ovaries from ovulating helping to protect the eggs from the chemotherapy medicine and increasing chances of fertility after treatment.
She also had six months of ‘hard hitting’ chemotherapy as part of a trial run by Cancer Research UK.
Gayle said: “I didn’t know what the outcome would be but as I was young and strong I was happy for them to just treat the cancer aggressively and stop it from spreading anymore. Although I’d been given Zoladex I didn’t know what the outcome would be.”
Thankfully for Gayle 18 months after her treatment she conceived and in 2007 welcomed a healthy baby girl, Ciara who is now nine and a pupil at Highburton School. She already had a son, Matthew who is now 16 and a student at Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Gayle said: “At that point I knew I’d done the right thing and the difficult decision I had to make was worth it. Thanks to research as well as beating cancer I had the second child I’d dreamed of.”
Now Gayle and her partner Shaun McCalla – A DJ who does lots of events in Huddersfield – want to give something back to Cancer Research UK, for all the work it does in helping people to beat cancer and offer people hope for the future.
The couple is embracing their passion for music and have organised an evening called Dimensions of Soul which will take place at the Earl of Doncaster Hotel in Doncaster this Sunday.
Gayle said: “We both absolutely love soul music and wanted to find a way to be able to share that with others to help raise money. Shaun is a DJ so will be bringing his experience to the event and we know it’s going to be a great night.
“This event isn’t just about my cancer survival but together we’ve also lost loved ones to this disease including Shaun’s mum who died of breast cancer and our dear fried Rob who died of throat cancer. There’s still much more to be done and we want to do what we can to help. All money raised will be matched by my employer Barclays so book your ticket and let’s make them have to dig deep!”
Tickets must be booked in advance and cost £15 each with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK. For further information or to book tickets visit the website www.dimensionsofsoul20.wix.com/dimensions-of-soul or email dimensionsofsoul2015@gmail.com
