A brave mum with a rare cancer is to take a leap from the Transporter Bridge to help others.
Melissa Lacey, 33, of Billingham, made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to stop treatment for the appendix cancer so she could enjoy the time she has left with her family.
But despite also suffering bowel cancer, ovarian cancer and peritoneal cancer, Melissa is still doing her bit, and is to bungee jump from the Middlesbrough landmark to raise charity funds.
And while Melissa is helping others, her friends and family continue to rally around Melissa.
Friend of around seven years, Alison Abbott, of Hartlepool, has organised a charity night to raise funds to help send Melissa on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney World in Florida with her husband Carl and their eight-year-old son Evan.
Alison said: “Melissa wanted to go to Disneyland Paris before she was no longer with us, and her friends from school set up a page where people could donate. They raised enough to send her to America instead.
“But then it turned out the insurance was going to cost more than the trip itself.”
Funds from Alison’s pie and peas charity night, which Melissa plans to attend, will go towards paying for the insurance.
Alison said “We’ve had a lot of help from local companies who’ve donated some brilliant prizes. There’ll be a disco, tombola and raffle, as well as a few other things.”
And she added: “Melissa doesn’t know about this yet - there are going to be a few surprises for her when she reads the Gazette!
“A friend of the family, Lisa Fascia, is going to be doing a headshave at the night.
“And some of Melissa’s family members from London are going to be doing a sponsored wax.”
Lisa, 31, of Thornaby said: “I’ve always said for the right charity I would do something extreme, so I decided to do the headshave.
“I’ve never actually met Melissa myself, but she’s a good friend of my sister Nicola. There are a lot of charities out there but this one is close to my sister.
“When she told me about it, I thought I’d like to do something to help. My hair’s always been really thick, and is about shoulder length.”
The event is being held from 7.30pm on Saturday, April 11, at the Cowpen Club in Billingham. Alison is still looking for donations of raffle prizes. To help, or for tickets, at £5, contact Alison on 01642 278165 or on 07710 970733.
There is also a Facebook page for the event at http://on.fb.me/19atTpZ
To sponsor Lisa for the headshave, you can donate via http://bit.ly/16opCh9 .
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