Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

New York is the goal for Joanne from Stratford after her cancer journey is complete




LIVING life to the fullest is the personal goal of Joanne Dance who is full of praise for the nursing staff at the Rigby Unit, Stratford Hospital who are helping her get through her journey with breast cancer.

Joanne’s world changed in February and March when she was diagnosed with cancer but the 42-year-old from Stratford is determined to stay active and currently works from home as a customer service manager; a job she’s thoroughly enjoyed for over five years now.

During Easter, Joanne received four rounds of chemotherapy and last month she began weekly chemotherapy and is halfway through 12 treatment sessions. Radiotherapy is also planned at a later stage.

Joanne Dance, seated right, handed over a cheque for £2,000 to Ness George, Rigby Unit manager, in front unit staff Fliss Bowyer, Lucy Mitchell, Sam Deakin, Tina Barnett and Beth Higgins. Also pictured are Jo's parents Stephen and Brenda Dance along with GfA work colleague Rachel Collett. Photo: Mark Williamson
Joanne Dance, seated right, handed over a cheque for £2,000 to Ness George, Rigby Unit manager, in front unit staff Fliss Bowyer, Lucy Mitchell, Sam Deakin, Tina Barnett and Beth Higgins. Also pictured are Jo's parents Stephen and Brenda Dance along with GfA work colleague Rachel Collett. Photo: Mark Williamson

She’s never been alone throughout this whole time. Her mother, Brenda and her father, Stephen, have supported her with their love and in any way they can. So too have the nursing team at the Stratford Hospital Rigby Unit who have been “amazing.”

Joanne said: “How wonderful everybody is at the unit. They know your name and all the team are very clever. They look after me especially when I’m so tired and they also look after my family. I wanted to raise money for the unit to help other people and the staff there. My work colleagues were brilliant too and when I lost my hair, they cut their hair in support. The target was to raise £500 but together we have now raised £2,000 so I’m making a cheque presentation to the unit.”

Being Stratford born and bred makes Joanne even more proud of her hometown because her treatment takes place a mile or so from her front door which means she doesn’t have to travel far and – like hundreds of other patients – she benefits from this state of the art hospital since it opened in 2017.

Her doctor at the unit is Dr Nawaz Walji who is an oncologist in breast and gynaecology and Joanne has immense praise for him.

“He is a very clever man – direct and factual. He’s a wonderful person and an expert in his field,” she said.

Despite the pain caused by some of the treatment she remains fit and active. She goes for walks with her dad and fully intends to keep working. From the age of 16 she developed a passion for horses and spent time in Ireland as a stable girl with racehorse trainer Paddy Mullins and also with David Nicholson. ”It’s all I wanted to do,” she said.

The kind and professional treatment Joanne receives is inspired by the patients themselves as Ness George, unit manger and clinician at the unit explains.

“We are inspired by the people we work with on what can be a very scary journey but who also bring a lot of positivity to the environment. It’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a lot banter and this creates a friendship and a relationship with everyone,” Ness said.

Joanne has special thanks for the nursing team of Su, Jo Jo, Daniella and Tina and she also wants to give a big thank you to her work colleagues at GfA in Warwick who had hair cuts or shaved their heads including Amy, Paul, Karl, Rhob, Spencer and Craig. And of course, there’s her loyal colleague Rachel Collett who has supported Joanne on her journey throughout.

There’s so much that Joanne’s looking forward to achieving.

Her 40th birthday was during lockdown so she plans to catch up with that celebration and she’s off to New York next year as it’s been her dream to do so. She’s already got her first mortgage for her house and most of all she she remains positive and hopeful that much of her treatment will be out of the way by Christmas and that’s down to the wonderful care given by the Rigby Unity team.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More