Jo Shaw Pyke speaks out about 'mind blowing' fundraising efforts

Shields Gazette

Jo Shaw Pyke, from South Shields, has spoken about her surprise at how well fundraising has gone following her incurable cancer diagnosis.

Transcript

00:00The kindness, the love, the support. To be honest, it's mind-blowing. It's mind-blowing.

00:05It's still quite emotional. I'm still having tears when different things are happening around me.

00:13Obviously, you know, you've helped a lot of people over the years deal with their own

00:19cancer diagnosis. And then obviously, you mentioned when we first spoke a few weeks

00:23ago that a lot of people who you've helped have now reached out. I know you've had a few people

00:27thank, but just talk us through that outpouring of support, like just how you felt when you've

00:32experienced that. Again, mind-blowing. I've got to mention Sarah. Sarah Burrell was a past client

00:39of mine at Cancer Connections about 10 years ago. And she must have seen, I think it must have been

00:45our story when it went out a few weeks ago, contacted me and asked if she could do something

00:51to help. And the next thing you know, she's organised a night at the Alona Club in Heaven

00:58tomorrow night, fundraising night. The amount of raffle prizes that have been gifted, again,

01:04have come in from past clients that have been dropped off in Cancer Connections for me.

01:10It's just so overwhelming. I can't even put it into words, actually. It just makes my heart melt.

01:16And obviously, you know, you've talked to people who haven't even met you who might have seen the

01:20story. People haven't met you have been reaching out as well. Just talk us through how you feel

01:22about all that as well. Yeah. So, yeah, quite a few, actually. One in particular, I attended a

01:30funeral with a family I've never even met. A lady had seen my story in the Gazette and just felt

01:38like her dad would have liked if anything that was taken at the funeral would have been donated

01:43to the fundraising. I had a chat with her on the phone and she invited me along. So that was quite

01:49surreal, but lovely. I felt like I knew the gentleman. Really, really nice guy. Really nice

01:55guy. Lovely people. And then also you've had the touching story of two children helping you as

02:00well. Just tell us a little bit more about that. Oh, no, Ryan, that made me cry as well. So, yeah,

02:05it's a friend of mine, Angela Tiffin. I've known her for over 20 years. Her grandchildren, I believe

02:10at the beginning of September when she found out about my fundraising page, her granddaughter,

02:16little Lucy and her friend, Mia, decided to set up a little shop at the front of their grandma's

02:24house selling pop and raise quite a good amount of money for the fundraising. It's just so moving.

02:32So moving. So, you know, you've kind of helped a lot, obviously, a lot of people in South Tyneside

02:38and obviously you're from a Liverpool slum originally, moved to South Tyneside. How have

02:42run away by the sort of more community support? I just I just love them all. It's just overwhelming.

02:48I've since coming here 24 years ago, I felt like this was my home. I think the people are very

02:53similar to people in Liverpool. But you don't realise how much you're loved. And, you know,

02:59I had a conversation with Sarah the other day, actually, that it's lovely to hear all of these

03:05things, how you've touched other people and actually hear it and not have it be said at

03:10your funeral. It's it's a lovely it's a very overwhelming feeling. Is there anything else

03:15like that? There's just too many to name. There's so many names. I had a lovely lady,

03:22a friend called me the other day. Her name's Rosalyn. She did a coffee morning, raised

03:28a substantial amount of money and split it between me and another cancer charity.

03:33I've never met that lady. We did try to meet up on Monday, but unfortunately she couldn't make it.

03:38So I am hoping to meet her. It feels really important to me to be able to personally thank

03:44the people that are taking the time to do these things for me. It's it's vital, actually,

03:50that I do that. I reach out to them and thank them. And I just really want to say a big thank

03:56you from the bottom of my heart. Well, I've had cancer for 13 years. Joe, I met Joe 13 years ago.

04:02And Joe's been my absolute rock, my angel. If it wasn't for Joe, I wouldn't be here today.

04:10So I just want to give her something back that she's given to me. And it's some life back.

04:18And I'll just continue to keep fundraising for her until we get we get what we need.

04:24Now, obviously, a lot of people reach out and help Joe because of the help that Joe's given them.

04:27You've experienced that help firsthand. Talk us through what that help is like. What sort of

04:31help do you get from Joe's Ports through that? Yeah, we've had multiple, multiple businesses

04:36contacting Barber Factory. We've donated a jacket to be to be raffled or blank carded.

04:46Mambo's, you know, even small businesses we put on, I put on the parent network page

04:52and smaller businesses have given me vouchers for house cleans and oven cleans and multiple things.

04:59So you've experienced going through cancer, you're still going through one. Joe as well,

05:03just talk us through how difficult it is to go through that if you don't have the

05:06help that you've received from Joe. Just talk us through how difficult that is.

05:09I mean, my heart goes out to Joe. England, my cancer is incurable but manageable.

05:17And it has been manageable for eight years now. England can do that for me. For Joe,

05:22there's no there's no treatment in the UK that will give Joe a long quality of life.

05:27And this is why we're massively fundraising and I'll keep doing that until we get the money that

05:34Joe needs to go to to America. Obviously, you're hosting an event

05:38on Friday night at the Heaven Iona Club. Just talk us through the details of that event.

05:43Yeah, yeah, we've got the Heaven Iona Club tomorrow night, actually, tomorrow night

05:47from 7.30 onwards. I've got to manage to get some entertainment. Everybody's doing everything for

05:52nothing. There's been no outgoings on this event. The DJ, you know, there's three singers that are

06:02doing this for nothing. Friends of Joe's have helped do little buffets and things like that,

06:08and very kindly Iona have give us, give the club for nothing.

06:11Anything else like that? I just want, I please just urge people to

06:16come along and bring your wallets, bring your purses, because we're going to, I'm going to be

06:21after your money tomorrow night. We just need to really try and please, please, please help.

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