Each and every one of us are affected by cancer or a life ending life ending illness at some point in our lives. This is just one instance where unfortunately cancer won.

In May 2019 John Osborne was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and he fought hard to save his life through 6 rounds of chemotherapy, but unfortunately just 7 months later he lost the battle and he died on 5th December 2019.

Antony Woodcock explained, “The last few weeks of John's life were spent at St Rocco’s Hospice where the care provided was above and beyond anything we could have expected. They did everything they could to make him as comfortable as possible, in a homely environment where he could spend his final moments with his family and friends.

“It is only by being alongside John through this experience that we have come to realise the incredible work this charity does. We simply cannot thank them enough for their work, and we want to make sure that other families going through this heart wrenching time get the same love and support that St Rocco's provide and we really hope that you'll all support us in doing so!”

From Whitehaven to Tynemouth

On 1st October, Anthony and a team of family and friends set off on one of the toughest journeys they have attempted. They cycled from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, a journey of 140 miles over 2 days. They have raised an amazing £5,000 towards patient care here at St Rocco's in John's memory. What a fabulous team thank you so much!

Anthony said, “I have to say it was one of the toughest physical challenges any of us have ever done, the first day really pushed us to the limits physically and mentally. We climbed over 6500ft on day one over approx. 70 miles, so as you can imagine it was a killer. The first 20 miles of day 2 was all uphill too so we really didn’t get much rest until after that, however after this we were rewarded with lots of downhills to taking us in Newcastle and then into Tynemouth to the finish line.

“We all had such a great sense of achievement when we reached the finish line and are extremely proud of what we have done! Doing it for such an important cause and in memory of John Osborne made it all the more special!

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to the team who supported me on this journey and committed to taking part. They are an incredible bunch of lads and I am extremely proud of them all! I’d also like to thank our support team, friends and family for getting behind us throughout and to anyone who has so generously donated. It means the world to us so thank you.”