Young cancer survivor from Formby set to take on epic CrossFit challenge

A 20 year old woman, from Formby, is putting herself through her paces to train for the annual Battle Cancer CrossFit fitness competition to raise money for a charity close to her heart. Beth Costello, who works as a personal trainer at Formby Fitness, will be putting her fitness to the test at the Battle Cancer event, in Manchester, on 3 August 2019, to raise money for CLIC Sargent, the UK's leading cancer charity for children and young people. Beth's effort comes after she was supported by a CLIC Sargent Social Worker who provided emotional and financial support when she was diagnosed with skin cancer in July 2017. The shock news came when Beth had a mole removed after noticing it had grown. A week after it was removed, tests revealed that it was cancer. Beth, 20, said:- "When I was diagnosed it was a shock, but I'm a bit of an over thinker so it had crossed my mind. After initially being told, it didn't really sink in or feel real for the 1st day or 2 and then when it did I was absolutely devastated."

Thankfully, Doctors were able to remove a wider area of skin and confirm that they had got rid of all of the cancerous cells. Beth will continue to have regular check ups for 5 years. Throughout the ordeal, Beth received support from her CLIC Sargent Social Worker Rachel. Beth said:- "Rachel came to see me every couple of weeks, she was ace. She offered such amazing emotional support to me and my parents. I was really worried about returning to work and going out and seeing people, but Rachel really helped to ease my worries. After my experience I've become a proud supporter of CLIC Sargent and have already raised nearly ₤1000 from a previous event! After hearing about the Battle Cancer event I decided to rally the troops and signed up 3 groups to take part. Fitness really helped me after diagnosis and treatment so this is the perfect event to get involved in. I think CLIC Sargent should get more recognition for the amazing work they do, so I'm really proud to support such a worthy cause and represent the charity to help raise much needed awareness so they can help more children and young people with cancer."

Last year in Merseyside CLIC Sargent supported 163 families, giving out over 140 financial grants to the value of almost ₤30,000, helping families to cope with the costs of cancer. The Cancer Costs report from the charity found that families with a child on active treatment spend an extra ₤600 a month. Sophie Meadows, CLIC Sargent Fundraising Engagement Manager for Merseyside and North Wales, said:- "When cancer strikes young lives we fight tirelessly to limit the damage it causes beyond their health. We rely entirely on donations to fund our vital work and so we can't thank Beth enough for her fantastic efforts. This big challenge Beth will be taking on will make a massive difference for young people with cancer by helping us ensure they are getting the right support they need."

To sponsor Beth's CrossFit challenge, go to:- JustGiving.Com/Beth-Costello. For more information about CLIC Sargent's work go to:- ClicSargent.Org.UK.

Friends and Family recommend Lancashire Care

LANCASHIRE Care NHS Foundation Trust is proud to share overwhelmingly positive:- "Friends and Family Test (FFT)" feedback from service users, their carers, families and friends. The results of over 7,100 completed Friends and Family Test (FFT) surveys for the Trust during the period from January to June 2019 showed that 96.3% of people who used a Trust service as a patient, carer or relative would recommend the Trust and the service they received. The Trust has broken the results down by its operational networks which show that 98.7% of responders would recommend the Community and Wellbeing Network, 91.2% would recommend the Mental Health Network and 94.5% would recommend the Children and Young People Network. FFT is an important feedback tool that give people who use NHS services the opportunity to provide their feedback on their experiences. The data from patients and staff helps identify what is working well and what can be improved and how.

Julie Seed, Deputy Director of Nursing and Quality at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, said:- "The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is instrumental in supporting the NHS to understand what is working well, what can be improved and how we can work together to drive service improvement for the people who use our services. It also provides the public with a voice to be able to feedback about their experience of care, be this positive or negative or somewhere in the middle. We know that there are so many of our staff out there who are working extremely hard to provide high quality, compassionate care to our service users, however we are immensely proud to have reassurance of this through this year's FFT feedback. The feedback we have received is now being used to stimulate improvement across Lancashire and parts of South Cumbria and also to celebrate and empower staff to continue the work that makes a real difference to our patients."

For more information about services provided at Lancashire Care please visit:- LancashireCare.NHS.UK or for more information about the Friends and Family Test Survey please visit:- England.NHS.UK.

Elmer The Patchwork Elephant teams up with anti bullying charity Kidscape to prevent bullying in Primary Schools

ANTI-BULLYING charity Kidscape have teamed up with Andersen Press, publishers of the beloved Elmer books, to promote Friendship Friday this November. Friendship Friday is celebrated in nurseries and Primary Schools throughout England and Wales, helping children build happy and healthy relationships for life.  The free Friendship Friday resource pack is available from the Kidscape website as early years staff begin to plan their activities for the new School year. Friendship Friday will take place on Friday, 8 November 2019, and is an opportunity to build bullying prevention into early years education and involve younger children in plans for Anti Bullying Week.

Lauren Seager Smith, CEO of Kidscape said:- "We're helping more and more families who are concerned about bullying in younger children. The aim of Friendship Friday is to help children, Schools and parents build kind and caring communities where all children can thrive. We're delighted to be working with Andersen Press and Elmer as Elmer champions friendship, kindness and inclusivity, which are at the heart of Kidscape's work and Friendship Friday."

David McKee, creator of Elmer said:- "For nearly 30 years now Elmer has stood for accepting who you are and celebrating difference. We are all different, with so many differences, difference of colour, of accents, but also of size, shape and how we dress. The differences are what make the world so rich. If Elmer can help in any way, no matter how small, to encourage friendships then he will, he tells me, feel very proud. As will I as his creator."