Burgess Hill cancer survivor owes life to stranger (From The Argus)

Burgess Hill cancer survivor owes life to stranger

6:10pm Wednesday 16th May 2012 in News

She has been given a second chance of life thanks to the help of a total stranger.

Without the bone marrow transplant, Lynn Hale would only have had between two and five years to live.

Fortunately for the 48-year-old, the Antony Nolan Trust was able to find her a perfect donor after tests revealed her family were not a suitable match.

Mrs Hale is now preparing to have the transplant later this year and will tomorrow welcome home to Brighton two friends who will have raised £3,000 for the trust by walking 220 miles.

She is now urging others to sign up to the trust’s register and potentially save other people’s lives.

Mrs Hale said: “Because of what happened with me, my children and other family and friends have all registered and hope that one day they may be able to help someone, just like someone is preparing to help me.

“I've been really, really lucky because a suitable match was found quickly but there are so many others out there who are not so fortunate.”

Mrs Hale, who is married to Martin, 57, was diagnosed with the blood cancer mylodysplasia when she was 17. For many years she did not need treatment and was only monitored but over the past four years her condition deteriorated.

She needs to have blood transfusions at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton three to four times a week and had to give up her job working in Asda.

At the end of last year, specialists at Kings College Hospital in London told her she needed to have a transplant to prolong her life.

Mrs Hale said: “Obviously it was very upsetting and took a while to come to terms with but in the end I knew it was something I had to do.

“I owe a lot to that stranger. He has given me hope for the future.

“I consider every day to be a blessing and I am hoping that with his help I will be able to see my kids get married and have their own children.

“I now have the chance of a long future, which is why I want to try to help others in the same position as me.

“I've learned that the charity is keen for men to sign up to the register and they can often provide a good match. This has certainly worked out for me.”

Mrs Hale, from Marle Avenue, Burgess Hill, is hoping to be at the Palace Pier in Brighton tomorrow night to welcome home Keith Maynard and Dave Eaton at the end of the fundraising walk.