The leader of Frome Town Council, Cllr Fiona Barrows, has urged the community to support cancer counselling charity, We Hear You, following her breast cancer diagnosis.
Cllr Barrows shared news of her diagnosis at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday 18th February.
She said, “I’m joining you remotely this evening because I was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. It is on both sides and in both sets of lymph nodes, which means treatment will be intensive and extensive, starting with six months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
“The timing of this diagnosis is, if I’m honest, heartbreaking. I think you all know how much I love being in this role as Leader and Chair and how much I love this town. There is so much work under way, so much momentum and so much more I want to do.
“Thank you to my fellow councillors and to all of Frome Town Council staff for your support over the past few weeks, it has really meant so much to me. And thank you now for going out of your way to make sure I can attend meetings online and continue to be effective in my role, even at a slight distance. I really do appreciate it.”
Cllr Barrows urged the community to support the urgent fundraising appeal of We Hear You (WHY), which must raise £55,000 by the end of March to save their counselling service, or face closure.
She said, “Finally – and this is a personal plea. If you are able to, I would really love you to consider supporting our local charity We Hear You. In so many of my appointments at the Royal United Hospital WHY’s name has come up. Doctors and nurses have spoken about how valued their support is, how much people have benefited from it and how sad they are that the charity is facing possible closure, and that their waiting list is currently closed.
“Frome is known for coming together as a community so if you would like to support me, I would ask you to transfer that support to We Hear You and help keep them going for the many people in our community who they support through the toughest times in their lives. Thank you.”
Chief Executive Officer of We Hear You, Lucy Kitchener, said, “On behalf of the people we support, our team and our trustees, I want to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Fiona for her kindness and generosity.
“WHY is facing a serious funding shortfall at the moment and our vital services are at real risk. If you can, please donate to our appeal – support us at one of our events, host a small fundraising event, or share the appeal page with people you know.
“Every action genuinely helps, and it means we can continue being there for people like Fiona in the hardest of times.”
Donate to the WHY appeal at https://tinyurl.com/we-hear-you-appeal
