A charity has been set up in memory of a young teacher who lost her battle with cancer ... and here is her moving story
Sinead’s Cancer Care was the brainchild of Sinead Broadbent who passed away earlier this year and a fundraising black tie ball will now be held to raise money for the charity.
The 24-year-old from Brighouse died peacefully in her boyfriend Jamie Robson’s arms in Overgate Hospice in Elland.
Jamie, also 24, said: “Sinead had always wanted to give back to those who helped her so I came up with the idea of fundraising.
“She had a quirky taste so she wanted me to put on Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland-themed events, as well as special Halloween events.
“We thought it would be a small thing but it quickly turned into a fully fledged charity.”
Jamie, along with Sinead’s family, set up the charity to fundraise for seven other charities that helped during Sinead’s two and a half year battle with bowel cancer.
The key charities are the Overgate Hospice, where she spent the last three months of her life, and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, a cancer treatment centre in Manchester.
The other charities are the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, the Teenage Cancer Trust, CLIC Sargent, the Willow Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Sinead, a primary school teacher at St Chad’s CE Primary School in Brighouse where she was a former pupil, had also worked at Bridge End Nursery in Brighouse.
The nursery held an Alice in Wonderland-inspired Mad Hatter’s tea party fundraiser for Sinead’s Cancer Care on World Book Day in March.
Now the charity will be officially launched at a black tie ball on July 15 after becoming a registered charity in March.
The elegant event, called Shine for Sinead at Cedar Court Hotel at Ainley Top will include live music from Bradford-based band The Void and latin and ballroom dancing.
Jamie, a technical support manager for an IT company, said: “It was Sinead’s wish to have our first ever event be a lovely ball with dancing and good music.
“The long-term goal is to give out grants to help cancer patients fulfil their bucket list needs.
“I also want to speak to young people to let them know what support is out there.”
Sinead was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in July 2014 – just one month after she began her relationship with Jamie.
She underwent several major operations and rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the young couple later moved in together in Brighouse. She was given a terminal prognosis in February 2016.
To buy tickets to the ball, which cost £45 each or £405 for 10, email fundraising@sineadscancercare.co.uk.
Jamie has paid this heartwarming tribute to Sinead.
This is her story
“Sinead was a young woman embracing life and bringing her own special brand of joy and enthusiasm to those around her. With a rich and diverse heritage and an impossible curiosity about the world and everything in it, Sinead was a force of nature, a shining light and a warm, generous and loving friend to all who knew her.
On July 13, 2014, Sinead was admitted to Huddersfield Hospital with severe nausea and stomach pains. After a series of tests, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
The first of many treatments was a procedure where a stent was inserted into her bowel to clear an obstruction, followed by a six-month cycle of chemotherapy. The stent worked well for a while and when it failed, Sinead had to have emergency surgery which resulted in an ileostomy.
Further surgery at the Christie in Manchester a month later saw the removal of two thirds of her bowel, her appendix, fallopian tubes, ovaries and the peritoneum lining.
Sinead was cancer free at this point and proceeded with another six months of chemotherapy to ensure that she had the best chance of remaining so. Unfortunately, after a short time the cancer was back and she embarked on a much more aggressive cycle of chemotherapy sessions which resulted in the loss of her hair, and the discovery of quirky hats.
In February 2016, after completing the chemotherapy, it became clear that it was no longer a case of trying to cure the cancer, but of trying to manage the cancer and Sinead’s life in the best possible way. The cancer was back and it was aggressive, it had spread to her scar tissue and her lymph nodes. Sinead was given an initial prognosis of six months and that chemotherapy would have no further impact on the cancer. It was also agreed that she would receive radiotherapy to help reduce the size of the tumours and the affect they may have on her body.
On October 23, 2016 Sinead agreed to stay at Overgate Hospice in Elland which was initially to get on top of her pain and to find ways to help her manage better. Unfortunately, as time went on Sinead’s health started to decline more rapidly and the help and support at the hospice was just what she needed.
Sinead passed away comfortably and peacefully in her sleep and in her partner’s arms on January 22.
Throughout her battle with cancer Sinead embraced each moment fully and continued to pursue new experiences, travelling to Amsterdam, South Africa, Sweden to see the Northern Lights and New York with her family.
Sinead was loved and supported by her partner and her family and by an incredible circle of friends who shared the joy, laughter and fun of the good times and supported her through all of the bad times.
Sinead knew how much she was loved, and she loved back fiercely and with passion.
Sinead handled her aggressive treatments, her surgeries and the pain she suffered with such strength, dignity and courage. She accepted her fate and cared so much about how her partner, family and friends were coping, often reassuring them selflessly that everything would be okay. Sinead always had a positive outlook on every aspect of her life, no matter what else was going on.
Sinead would have done whatever possible to help the charities that were there for her. This charity is dedicated to helping all Sinead’s favourite charities. The care, support, help and love she received was priceless.
