Cancer support charity urges Peterborough residents to ‘get writing’

A national cancer support charity is appealing for people across the region to put pen to paper in order to help local cancer sufferers who may be feeling isolated and lonely.

From Me to You – a charity which has a long-standing partnership with Peterborough City Hospital – distributes hand-written letters to people fighting cancer.

As part of its Big Letter Write Campaign, the charity is asking Peterborians to “take 10 minutes out of their day” to write a letter to someone fighting cancer.

Though it is not always acknowledged, loneliness and isolation can have a devastating effect on people combatting cancer. This is something cancer survivor Colleen remembers all too well:

“As a cancer survivor myself, I understand first-hand the loneliness and isolation that cancer can bring,” she explained.

“Even with a close support network around me,” she added, “I felt increasingly disconnected from society.”

“Whilst people’s lives continued around me, mine ground to a halt, with treatment taking over.”

Colleen recalls the day she received her first letter from the charity:

“On one of my many trips to hospital, I was handed a letter by a nurse – a letter which had been donated through From Me to You.”

“This letter offered me an escape from my treatment that day; taking me into someone else’s life - a life without cancer.”

“I was so grateful to the person who had taken time out to write it and found myself re-reading it many times.”

From Me to You sends 10,000 letters out every year. Following a 25 per cent increase in requests in recent months, the charity is urging everyone in our area to get involved and help remind people fighting cancer that they are not alone.

Colleen is now one of the many people in the area who write letters for From Me to You.

If you would like to join her then please visit www.frommetoyouletters.co.uk where you can request a starter pack.

Similarly, anyone who is currently fighting cancer would like to receive a letter is strongly encouraged to reach out to From Me to You via the website.