MP lends support to breast cancer awareness event
Everyone was in the pink despite the rain as a Lye care company hosted an event to raise money during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The pink-themed coffee and cake day at Pinnacle Support saw plenty of people through the door despite the torrential downpours.
Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb attended along with Lye and Stourbridge North ward councillor David Borley. There were also plenty of representatives of groups in the Dudley Borough who promote awareness of breast cancer, such as the Ridge Hill Centre in Brierley Hill.
An array of bras were hung outside the Pinnacle Support HQ in Hayes Lane and the total raised on the day and before the event came to well over £2,000
The bulk of the money will go to the Midlands-based Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer charity, which provides 'Hugs in a Bag' for sufferers, counselling support and education for people on how to test themselves for the disease.
Pinnacle Support itself provides day services for adults with varying learning disabilities, some of whom have experienced breast cancer, with one of the workers also having first-hand experience.
Pete Scott from Pinnacle Support said they were more than happy to host the morning and help raise awareness of screening services for breast cancer, support and advice that is available,
He said: "We have a number of people who work for us who have experienced the issue first hand and they were instrumental in organising the day which saw a fantastic turnout.
"There was help and advice available all morning, as well as cake and tea, and for some service users or people visiting it was very useful because they might not have understood before what to look for when it comes to breast cancer, the signs, or how they can look for them,"
Support worker Wendy Skelding helped organise the event. Her sister, Claire Lowe, sadly lost her fight against the disease, and Wendy said she was trying to bring about a positive out of a negative and increase awareness.
She said: "The whole event was a big success in not only raising money for the Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer charity, which relies on donations for their 'Hugs in a Bag', but raising awareness of the support and education that is out there for women of all ages around the subject of breast cancer.
Suzanne Webb said: "Myself and Councillor Borley were very happy to pop along to Pinnacle Support in Lye to help raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
"I met with women at different stages of breast cancer, and the key message is just how important it is to self-check and go to mammogram screenings when invited because the earlier the disease is found, the better.
"I would also like to thank Wendy Skelding, who sadly lost her sister to breast cancer two years ago, for organising the event for such an important cause."
