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Published: December 9th 2009
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Tonight was the annual Christmas Carol Service at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham Road, Chelsea. The Marsden is the leading cancer hospital in the UK and probably ranks as one of the best in the world. Founded in 1851, it was the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer. The service, called 'Celebrate A Life', lets patients and loved ones sponsor a golden star to be placed on the Christmas tree located by the main steps of the hospital.
Such a crowd of people turned out in the pouring rain to join in the carol singing, all united by a common bond. What emotions must have been concentrated within that mass of people: gratitude, hope, fear, anxiety, regret, guilt and, without doubt, far, far too much grief. The rain did many of us a favour by hiding the tears which were being unashamedly shed.
Nellie and Monk were accompanied by Floss and Flower and, even though Irene's star was already on the tree, we placed 6 more stars on one of the branches as you can see in the photo.
Whenever Monk is in the area, he tries to visit St
Luke's Church just around the corner in Sydney Street to light a candle for Irene. It's a beautiful church, dating from 1820, whose bells peeled out for 3 hours on May 30th 1859 when the foundation stone was laid for the new premises of the Free Cancer Hospital founded by the philanthropist surgeon William Marsden. The hospital was William Marsden's second free hospital after the Royal Free. Marsden's wife died of cancer and it is thought that this was the driving force behind his founding of the new hospital. William Marsden said at the time he conceived the idea of the hospital - "Now gentlemen, I want to found a hospital for the treatment of cancer, and for the study of the disease, for at the present time we know absolutely nothing about it.". Of course, things have progressed enormously since then but the disease has yet to be fully conquered in all its forms. Lung cancer is the biggest killer and there is still no widely-available early screening technique; by the time symptoms appear, the disease has often established itself throughout the body.
Unfortunately, tonight St. Luke's was locked and dark - a sign of the times I'm afraid. Such a pity - I'm sure there were others who might have wanted a moment of quiet contemplation after the carol service.
Monk's Meanders
Irene attended the Marsden for treatment during February and March 2009 and it's not a place that holds pleasant memories for Monk. However, the care and kindness she received from the staff were outstanding.
Together with Floss and Flower, we went to the Spaghetti House in Knightsbridge. Irene and Floss went there regularly over the course of 30 years or more when they worked for the Red Cross in Grosvenor Place. They continued going there even after they retired from the Red Cross. Alfredo and the staff are so friendly and welcoming. When Floss did the 'Race For Life' walk in the summer, the Spaghetti House donated £400 for her Cancer Research fund in memory of Irene.
Irene's fund at Cancer Research (
tinyurl.com/travelswithnellie) has now reached over £14000 and is still growing - but more of that on a future post.
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