FUND-RAISING DINNER AT BORO'S RIVERSIDE STADIUM

With the support of Middlesbrough FC, the Mike Findley MND Fund is organising a fund-raising dinner for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation at the Riverside on 22 April.

The guest speaker is Sir Bobby’s Fulham team mate Alan Mullery and further guests will be announced shortly.

Tickets cost £45 and are available via mikefindley@ntlworld.com or by calling 0780 5764 212.

SIR BOBBY ROBSON FOUNDATION TWITTER

You can now keep up to date with news from the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation via Twitter.

George Caulkin, journalist, author and a patron of the charity, will be tweeting regularly on our behalf.

You can follow the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SBRFoundation

‘ROCKING ON’ IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

Northumberland musicians are fighting cancer through rock music after a charity concert at an Amble pub raised £1,206 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

The sell out event at the Wellwood Arms featured three local bands – Life Crisis, Mudsharks and The Range. 'Wellwoodstock' was organised by Tim Fairbridge and Ian Fairbairn and was such a success that the bands are planning to repeat it later this year.

Ian Fairbairn, who lives in Amble and works at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Lynemouth Power Station, says: “Putting this charity event on was an amazing experience for all of us.

“We wanted to put on an evening of live music and as we began planning it we thought it could help a local charity too. We’re all Newcastle United fans so the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation was an obvious choice.

“I actually shared the same birthday as Sir Bobby although he was born a long time before me. He’s a man we all admired and we were very sad when he passed away.

“We’re very proud to support his charity and help local people with cancer. It’s a disease which has affected people we know and sadly I don’t think many people go through life without being touched by it one way or another.

“When my employers Rio Tinto Alcan found out what we were doing they donated an extra £200 to boost the overall total which was great.”

The three Wellwoodstock bands recently came together again to meet with Sir Bobby’s youngest son, Mark Robson, at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle.

Mark says: “Dad loved live music but I’m not sure a rock night would have been his cup of tea!

“He would have been very appreciative of the efforts the bands and Wellwood Arms went to on behalf of his charity though.

“The money raised will be spent on cancer projects which will help patients from across the north east, including the clinical trials of new drugs.

“Often these drugs are at such an early stage in development that they are not yet licensed by the NHS. That’s where the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is helping with funding.

“Events like Wellwoodstock are vital to the ongoing success of the charity and the fight against this terrible disease. We’re grateful to Ian and all the bands for thinking of us.”

Thanks to incredible ongoing support, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation has raised over £2.1 million since its launch in March 2008.

In addition to equipping the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, the charity has funded a specialist research nurse and doctor and enhanced a children’s waiting area at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care. It also recently announced a £30,000 contribution to the Teenage Cancer Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation operates within the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust and a wider cancer research network to provide services not currently funded by the NHS for the benefit of patients from across the north east.

TEENAGE CANCER PATIENTS BENEFIT FROM SIR BOBBY ROBSON FOUNDATION DONATION

Money donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation by Newcastle United will be used to benefit teenage cancer patients from across the region.

£30,000 raised by auctioning player’s shirts from the recent Ipswich v Newcastle match will go towards the new Teenage Cancer Unit in the Great North Children’s Hospital at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.

The specialist unit is being constructed by the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust in partnership with the Teenage Cancer Trust in the ‘penthouse’ of the new children’s hospital. It will provide teenage cancer patients with a home away from home when they require treatment and bridge the gap between existing services, which are designed for younger children or adult patients.

Kevin Nolan and Steve Harper were two of the Newcastle United players whose match shirts were auctioned. They came into the RVI with Pauline Buglass, head of fund-raising for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, to meet with 15-year-old patient Rebecca Johnson from Ashington.

Rebecca often faces time in hospital when she is receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Currently that means staying with younger children within the paediatric wards with few distractions available for patients her age.

Rebecca says: “The nurses here are fantastic and really care but it can be hard being in a ward with so many younger patients.

“There are lots of arts and crafts and games for the children but not much for older kids. It’s not that you always want to be playing games or whatever but time here can really drag if you don’t have something to do.

“Nobody wants to be in hospital but when the Teenage Cancer Unit is finished there will be other patients my age who understand how I feel and more things for me and my friends to do when they come and visit.”

The contribution from the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation will help fund flat screen televisions and entertainment equipment in the new unit, which will treat teenage cancer patients from across the North East.

Pauline Buglass, head of fund-raising for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, says: “The overwhelming majority of money donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is used to fund clinical trials into new cancer drugs not yet licensed by the NHS.

“However Sir Bobby was always committed to contributing to other cancer related projects when appropriate and his family felt this was one of those occasions.

“We’re very grateful to Newcastle United and to all the people who helped make this donation possible by bidding for the match worn shirts.”

Sir Bobby spent 13 successful years as manager of Ipswich Town and in recognition of his connection to both clubs match shirts were especially made for this game featuring the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation logo.

Newcastle won the match 4-0 including a hat-trick of goals from Kevin Nolan and his number 4 shirt alone raised an incredible £5,400.

Kevin says: "It was a real pleasure for myself and Steve to meet with Rebecca at the RVI. Being in hospital is difficult to deal with at any age but particularly so for teenage patients.

"The sum of money raised from the shirts we wore at the Ipswich game was phenomenal and it's terrific that it's being put to such a good cause through the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

"We hope that patients in the Teenage Cancer Unit benefit from it for years to come."

SIR BOBBY ROBSON FOUNDATION FUNDS SPECIALIST CANCER NURSE

A specialist trainee research nurse is now part of the team at the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre – funded through the ongoing generosity of donors and fund-raisers to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

Chris Dobb, aged 51 from Newcastle, joins the team in the clinical trials unit in the Northern Centre for Cancer Care at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle.

She qualified as a nurse over 20 years ago and has a wealth of experience in different areas including high dependency and school nursing. Two years ago she began work in clinical research and was so inspired she leapt at the opportunity to work at the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre.

Chris comments: “My main responsibility as a trainee research nurse is to learn from the experience of the cancer specialist nurses around me and to support them.

“This is a very supportive environment for patients and the medical staff. What hits you as soon as you start working here is the sense of a real team effort. The staff here are extremely professional and there is a mixture of different cancer specialities and the multi disciplinary approach is very effective.

“The patients who come here are dealing with extremely difficult issues and the way they handle that and go on with their lives as normal is incredible. The team here has a great deal of respect for them.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying my new role. I love the patient contact, getting to know them and their families and building a relationship with them.

“It’s a privilege being part of something this worthwhile. Looking at new ways to beat cancer and being part of such a dedicated team of medical specialists.”

The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre was constructed by the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust and equipped by the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Its specialist staff are funded through Newcastle University, the NHS Trust, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Cancer Research UK.

Patients from across the north east visit the centre for treatment and to participate in clinical trials of cancer drugs which are so new that they are not yet licensed by the NHS.

Professor Ruth Plummer, director of the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, says: “Chris’ appointment is an investment in the long-term future both of this centre and cancer research in the north east.

“Sir Bobby was very proud of this Centre and the staff who are lucky enough to work here are proud of it too. It’s a very special and upbeat place to work and the patients who come here know that by taking part in clinical trials of new cancer drugs they are part of the larger fight against this disease.

“With incredible support from fund-raisers and donors we have achieved a great deal in a short time but there’s still so much we can do. We will be announcing a very significant investment into cancer research in the New Year and will continue to grow the legacy Sir Bobby kindly left us.”