Wolo Foundation

Helping families affected by cancer in Sussex

'Working with the chefs was ‘the best night of my life' - Tris

Tris was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in July 2021 when he was ten. It is the most treatable and curable form of childhood cancer but the treatment is absolutely brutal, lasting 3.5 years. Tris is now just about half way through.

When you have a child who has cancer it affects every part of your life and each member of your family in different ways. It has a deep impact emotionally, financially, practically, physically and spiritually.

Wolo’s practical, compassionate, responsive and straightforward approach has meant that we have had access to some much needed practical and emotional help quickly, without having to jump through hoops and according to our needs. This has meant that more of our time can be focussed on caring for and being with Tris and our daughter.

Team Wolo, who are an absolute inspiration, understand just what it means to be affected by cancer and they know you need happy family time, community, practical and emotional support and inspiration.

We have loved coming along to their festival and they offered us an amazing minibreak when Tris was in the middle of the toughest part of his treatment. Every day was beyond tough at that point so to be able to have fun together and reconnect as a family away from the hospital seemed like a miracle.

When Tris was going through a particularly difficult part of his treatment, we reached out to Wolo to see if they could arrange something cooking related to give him something to look forward to and encourage his budding talent. Before we knew it, they had collaborated with another charity to offer him a Michelin experience of a lifetime. We were also linked up with another amazing chef who had just launched a brilliant cookery book.

'Working with the chefs was ‘the best night of my life' - Tris

On top of that one of the trustees family’s fundraised for a woodfired pizza oven for Tris and he has now spent hours perfecting his pizza which is a great distraction for him! These experiences have inspired him and given him more of a focus to create the life he wants post treatment. It has helped him to have the drive to make the most of his talent whilst he is having treatment.

Being supported by Wolo is like being given a big family hug at the time when we most need it. They get the balance between being of great practical help with being positive and inspirational so right.

We understand just how precious life is and WOLO Foundation has helped us in making the most of it, for which we are incredibly grateful.

Statistics show that 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Life is precious - we need to make the most of it - we only live once - Wolo!

To read more about the work Wolo do and their upcoming events (including the life-enhancing Wolo Africa 100 trek challenge), please visit their website: www.wolofoundation.org

#community #inspiration #help #charity #grateful #talent #cancer #weonlyliveonce #wolo #sussex

October is breast cancer awareness month

I was honoured to be part of this Flat Friends UK - Registered Charity 1168730 photo shoot. All of these women have chosen to remain flat after surgery. It’s a very personal decision, and one that I feel comfortable with. The thought of bearing all was very ‘eeky’, but knowing we’ve all been through a similar journey was empowering, and it felt good (even in the )! Just from looking at the photo, you can see cancer affects people of all ages, shapes snd sizes. I used to have a large chest, and it actually feels liberating to jump around like I just don’t care and not have to worry about them anymore Boobs are overrated anyway - mine tried to kill me, please check yours!

My first thoughts were that posting these photos is the bravest thing I’ve ever done, but actually, I don’t give a toss what anyone thinks. I am surviving and thriving and that’s the bravest thing I’ve ever done. We are all warriors

Thank you to Sam Dade S A M D A D E Creative Culture for capturing me at my finest

Suffering and Joy podcast - Tsering Sangpo Sherpa, as he reflects on his extraordinary life story

Here’s episode two of the Suffering and Joy podcast, in which my good friend John Richards spoke with Tsering Sangpo Sherpa, as he reflects on his extraordinary life story.

I first met Tsering last December and was blown away be his kind and gentle way of life. I was lucky enough to be invited out to Nepal by John as part of the The Inspiration Programme. This incredible experience gave me time to reflect on the last years cancer journey and courage to launch the charity. The trek was led by Tsering and our co-leader and 8 time Everest summiteer Nima Kanchha Sherpa, led the first ever Sherpa retreat in the towering Everest region.

Making memories that last forever

You might remember earlier this year we posted Andy’s story. Sadly, in December 2019, he received the devastating news that his cancer had spread and is now at Stage Four.

Last week Wolo arrange a photoshoot for Andy and his family in Friston Forest, Sussex with Sonia Hallam Photography We are all so pleased with the photos - we think Sonia has captured some beautiful moments - special times that will be treasured forever.

From the moment you are diagnosed with cancer, your life is taken over by hospital visits, treatments, tests, uncertainty. Having treatment during a pandemic made this even harder due to Government restrictions.

“The photos are something I’ll treasure forever I can’t thank both the charity and Sonia enough. Nothing is too much trouble for Fler and Justin and they are such nice, genuine people who completely understand how lives are changed overnight due to a Cancer diagnosis.”

Wolo Foundation help families living in Sussex through their cancer journeys. We offer support by offering practical help to make their day-to-day lives easier. We work with local businesses and communities to offer families a wealth of services to support them through their diagnosis, treatment and beyond.

Statistics show that 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Life is precious - we need to make the most of it - we only live once - WOLO!

Meet Emma and her husband Sean story

Everyone touched by cancer has a story—one filled with fear, hope and courage. Whilst sufferers have many things in common, no two journeys are the same. Aside from treatment, cancer has lasting effects on people’s lives. WOLO Foundation are here to support you on your cancer journey.

Meet Emma and her husband Sean. WOLO Foundation are supporting her and her family. She’s married and has 3 children - here’s her current situation - we want to say ‘story’ but she’s living it now so its not really. It’s life….

‘After more than 6 months of trying to establish the reasons for my change in bowel habits and extreme fatigue I was finally diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in August 2018 which had already spread to my Liver and Lungs. At the age of 46 this came as a complete shock and completely changed our lives.

My Cancer is not curable and only palliative care is being offered. I am married to Sean and we have 3 children now aged 25, 22 and 15. Sean and I were both working full time and life was quite settled and we were comfortable financially.

After my diagnosis Sean and I had to both give up work as I started intense chemotherapy straight away and we found ourselves in financial difficulty very quickly and having to rely on the benefits system which was a minefield. As we rented our property we also had to join a social housing list as we could no longer afford to live in our home. All of these major changes in such a short space of time have had a huge impact on us all.

In November 2018 I had a liver resection to try and cut out the majority of my Liver Cancer followed by Bowel surgery in February 2019 and continuous chemotherapy all the way through. I have just had my first liver ablation as my Cancer is relentless and will keep growing back, but I have a wonderful team looking after me fighting the fire!!

I first met Fler at a Baby and Toddler event in Seaford where Wolo had a stand but we are very proud people and after looking into the work they were doing decided at that time, we felt that there were many more deserving people than us that were benefiting from their help.

However, as time went on I decided to contact Fler at WOLO as I thought there may be some family things like days out etc that they be able to help with and Fler would often just message me to see how I was and how things were going with us all. Fler was able to put me in touch with a pension’s advisor, offer reiki treatments and even pay for a day out for us as a family!

Then COVID-19 hit and all of the things we had planned again had changed pretty much overnight but Fler and Justin continued to find ways in which they could help us and started to arrange food packages, delivered to our door for us very generously organised by local businesses which have been so gratefully received.

These food parcels usually have a small treat for the family like a game or colouring pencils, fresh fish, bread, fruit and veg, usually a sweet treat and some flowers.

What is also nice is that it when Justin delivers our parcel it gives Sean a chance to have a chat with another male who understands how hard it is as a partner/carer of someone going through cancer and the challenges they face.

Nothing is too much trouble for Fler and Justin and they are such nice, genuine people who completely understand how lives are changed overnight due to a Cancer diagnosis.

We are so grateful to WOLO who have continued to offer such great support in the most difficult of times. Thank you!!’

@Wolo Foundation help families living in Sussex through their cancer journeys. We offer support by offering practical help to make their day-to-day lives easier. We work with local businesses and communities to offer families a wealth of services to support them through their diagnosis, treatment and beyond.

Statistics show that 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Life is precious - we need to make the most of it - we only live once - WOLO!

This is a wonderful listen - Suffering & Joy

This is a wonderful listen - John Richards is a great friend of ours and it was so lovely to hear about his mother’s life. It really made us think about how well we all know our own parents? I’d give anything to be able to sit down with either of mine one more time and talk about their lives from their perspective. That would be a true #wolomoment for me (Fler Wright). If you are lucky enough to still have one or both of your parents, why not ask them some questions about their lives, how they coped during bad times, as well as the joyful times in their childhood, how they met and fell in love, and how their lives changed after you were born We only live once - let’s make the most of it #wolo #wolofoundation

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