Group of people make a splash in Spittal in aid of Chloe French from Berwick
Raising money to support Berwick resident Chloe French and her family was the motivation for a group of people to go into the cold North Sea.
She has received fantastic support from her partner Ben Fairbairn and his family and his mother, Susan, has thanked all those involved in the sponsored dip – which recently took place at Spittal beach.
Chloe was diagnosed with stage four metastatic melanoma in February 2023. One tumour in particular was found in her brain and required immediate treatment.
Susan said: “I work at Berwick Infirmary Minor Injuries Unit and my colleague, Fiona Mitchell, had the idea of a sponsored dip. She roped in other colleagues from the hospital and the community paramedics to do it with her.
“The day went very well. Everyone overcame their fear of the cold water and went in with no hesitations, making us all laugh.
“As a family we were all there and were very appreciative and grateful.”
In relation to her treatment status, Ben said: “The immunotherapy for Chloe had been going well until a scan in January last year showed several tumours in her stomach were not responding.
“These were being closely monitored and unfortunately she was called down at the end of April with the news that urgent life-saving surgery was required to remove them.
“The operation was carried out at the Royal Victoria Infirmary at the beginning of May and Chloe spent 11 nights in hospital. This was a long, slow and painful recovery but Chloe, yet again, took it all in her stride.
“Just last month, Chloe was admitted to the Freeman Hospital with severe leg pain. A scan unfortunately showed that a tumour in her sacrum had now doubled in size and was causing the nerve pain. A week of intense radiotherapy followed, which brings its own issues.
“Despite the most horrendous diagnosis, surgeries and on-going complications of treatment, Chloe continues to face all this with such a positive attitude and a smile on her face.
“In addition, she has not only raised awareness of melanoma, but fundraising efforts for both Cancer Research and The Teenage & Young Adults Trust have reached well over £24,000.
“She has also teamed up with Melanoma-Me, a charity based in Newcastle, to continue spreading awareness around this disease and supporting others.”