This week we have the pleasure of beginning a series of blogs introducing our Trustees to our supporters. Their names and faces will be familiar to many, but perhaps you don’t know how they came to be involved with the charity.
CHRISTINE LEE-JONES
I am Christine Lee-Jones and in my working life I was Principal of Eccles Sixth Form College in Salford and then Head Mistress of Manchester High School for Girls. A feature of Manchester High is its support for many charities through the work of the girls in organising charitable events. It was whilst working at the school that I heard about Genesis (now Prevent Breast Cancer) and met Pam Glass, one of the co-founders of the charity. Her lovely daughter Suzie was one of my pupils and I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm of both Pam and Suzie for this charity.
Two years after I retired I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the bottom fell out of my world. Like other people I took my good health for granted. With no risk factors, living a healthy life style and no family history of the disease, I was devastated to be told I had an aggressive breast cancer.
Everyone at The Nightingale Centre and The Christie who participated in my treatment and who helped me down that long, dark road to recovery were superb and are deserving of the highest praise. Becoming a trustee of the charity is my way of saying thank you and giving something back and working with others to try and eradicate this dreadful disease. We all hope for a future free from breast cancer.
In the eight years I have been a trustee there have been so many highlights from the balls to bike rides and our ability to support major research. A personal highlight was going to the Palace of Westminster with Mr James Harvey, surgeon and member of our Medical Board, to give evidence to the Select Committee looking at regional differences in the incidence and treatment of breast cancer.
I have watched this charity grow and become the vibrant, effective charity it is today. In doing so it has never lost its personal focus and I am proud to be able to contribute to its work.
About Prevent Breast Cancer
Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity entirely dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer – we’re committed to freeing the world from the disease altogether. Unlike many cancer charities, we’re focused on preventing, rather than curing. Promoting early diagnosis, screening and lifestyle changes, we believe we can stop the problem before it starts. And being situated at the only breast cancer prevention centre in the UK, we’re right at the front-line in the fight against the disease. Join us today and help us create a future free from breast cancer. If you have any questions or concerns, email us today.
