rivers2cross

Chapter 19 in The Record features my meeting with Greg Gilbert and Stacey Heale who I travelled to meet in Southampton at the end of 2018. They are two hugely inspirational people, and we talked about Greg’s stage 4 bowel cancer and his career as a musician with his band Delays, and as a wonderfully talented artist and poet. We also talked about Stacey’s life as, not just Greg’s carer, but as a former university lecturer turned newspaper columnist who helps raise awareness about bowel cancer, and gives talks about Greg’s bowel cancer and the effect it has had on her and the family. They have two very different first records…

I also picked up my first piece of Greg Gilbert art, which he kindly allowed me to use for the book’s front cover, and it has proved extremely popular. I am also eagerly waiting for a print of another stunning piece of Greg’s art to arrive. Being introduced to new things has been one of the massive positives of writing The Record, and as well as Greg’s paintings and drawings I really love the music of Delays too.

The Record was written in memory of my mum who died of bowel cancer in August 2016. All profits are donated to Bowel Cancer UK, and over £920 has been raised to date. I am hoping to reach £1000 during 2020. Click here to see all the ways to order a copy of the book.

Bowel cancer claims 16,000 lives in the UK, and is the second biggest cancer killer. However if caught early at stage 1 it is very treatable, and the five year survival rate is over 90%. When detected at the late stage 4 the five year survival rate drops dramatically to 7%. This shows how crucial early diagnosis is to getting a better outcome. Knowing the symptoms is so important.