Ross County’s manager and six first team players have visited a charity cancer centre in Inverness to learn more about the good work being done there.
Boss Jim McIntyre lost his father-in-law, Stuart Gillies, to bowel cancer several years ago, and yesterday he spoke with staff and service users at Maggie’s centre beside Raigmore Hospital.
Maggie’s relies on voluntary donations and offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends.
Yesterday during his visit the Staggies boss said: “My wife’s father died from bowel cancer so we know what a stressful time that is, and having been through it I think a facility like this can really help educate people who are directly involved. And considering they are self-funded, it is important that we as a club do our bit to help”.
He went on to highlight a five-mile fundraiser walk starting and finishing at the club on October 1, which both he and his family will be taking part in.
Last year the club raised £7,500 from the walk but this year they are aiming to raise £25,000-£30,000 – and all participants will receive a free ticket to the day’s match against St Johnstone.
Service user Des Devine, 52, was diagnosed with bowel and liver cancer three years ago and after two major operations he now has a tumour in his lung cancer.
Mr Devine is originally from Hawick but has lived in Holm, Inverness, for the past 12 years, and says he often goes to Victoria Park with his wife to support the Staggies and yesterday praised their support.
He said that being unable to work when ill for the first year was a big worry, but that a full-time financial adviser at Maggie’s helped him through this difficult period.
He added: “A clinical psychologist also helped both me and my wife with all of the worries that came with the illness. They also run nutrition classes and I now know to try and avoid dairy products as this creates insulin and sugars which the cancer feeds off. I also have meditation classes as cancer creates a lot of stress.
“It’s an amazing place and it’s great to come in and meet people and have a laugh. I have never come in here in the past three years without coming out with a spring in my step”.
Maggie’s centre manager Carole Bridge said: “I really get the feeling from the players that they believe that coming to Maggie’s can make such a huge difference to people. And it’s such a simple concept. We just welcome people and they can tell as much or as little as they want on that day”.
Ross County’s match video analyst Fraser Gorman said that Maggie’s transformed his family’s life as his mother battled Carcinoid cancer, a rare illness which affected her bowel and liver.
Margaret Gorman died in February 2013 aged 58 after a five-year battle with the illness.
Yesterday her 28-year-old son said that his mother was in Australia when she started to get intense shooting pains in her bowel, but doctors first suspected it to be Crohn’s Syndrome.
Her condition worsened and eventually her bowel burst, leaving her on life support, and following a biopsy she was diagnosed with the rare condition.
Mr Gorman said that nurses and doctors were not sure how to deal with her symptoms of hot flushes and low blood pressure, and so the family went to Maggie’s in Glasgow for support.
They met with a specialist there called Stuart Danskin, who explained the science behind her symptoms in more detail and helped the family better understand how to manage the illness.
He added: “Me and my dad, Gordon, would not be where we are today without the help of Maggie’s. We were informed about medication through Maggie’s and surgical procedures, and it was just a much more comfortable environment for us”.
