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I had originally planned to spend a weekend in Edinburgh doing a couple of photos for The Record, one of which included Gillian Wood. Sadly this was scuppered, so we had a long chat on the phone, during which I found out all about her bowel cancer, and the road to recovery including her stoma reversal.
Gillian is a massive David Bowie fan, although her first record is by a different artist, which is revealed in the chapter in the book. I actually first came into contact with Gillian through a fellow fan of The Alarm, Cathi Simpson, and Gillian and Cathi regularly go to see the band when they play in Scotland.
There was still the task of getting a photograph of Gillian for the book. Fate thankfully came to the rescue as Gillian decided to make the trip to The Gathering in Llandudno at the end of January, so we were able to do the photo there. It was really nice to meet her in person, and Gillian has continued to be a fantastic supporter of all my fundraising efforts.
The Record has quite a big Alarm presence in it with chapters on Smiley, Jules and James, and not forgetting Gaz Top. The chapter on Gillian is a real favourite of mine though, as it really captures the human side and effect of bowel cancer, and the strength, courage and determination of Gillian to get through it. On a personal level it’s also led to another lovely friendship for me.
I have published The Record in memory of my mum who died of bowel cancer in 2016. All profits raised from sales of the book are donated to Bowel Cancer UK with over £870 now raised. Bowel cancer remains the second highest cancer killer in the UK. 41,000 people are diagnosed each year, and 16,000 lives are lost. However, if caught early at stage 1, bowel cancer is very treatable, and the 5 year survival rate is over 90%. Sadly at the late stage 4 this figure drops dramatically to just 7%, which makes early detection and diagnosis vital. Raising awareness about bowel cancer and the symptoms plays an important, and hopefully The Record can help in a small way.
