Bouquet of hope to raise cancer funds

Canterbury Bells are raising money for Ovarian Cancer Action with its 'Bouquet of Hope' - l to r; Casey McCallum, owner Catherine Young and Elaine Jeans. Pic by Fife Photo Agency

Catherine Young, owner of Canterbury Bells on Kirkcaldy High Street, has created a ‘Bouquet of Hope’ to mark Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month with a percentage of every sale going to the group Ovarian Cancer Action.

It’s a cause dear to Catherine’s heart as she herself was diagnosed with the disease at the age of just 27.

“I had a really rare form of ovarian cancer 22 years ago,” she said. “In the space of four weeks it had developed into the size of a six month old foetus.

“They said if I had left it another week I wouldn’t be here today. It was really quite scary.”

Catherine was treated for six months, an ordeal she describes as “absolutely hideous”.

“But five years to the day after finding out I had cancer, I gave birth to twins. They’re 16 now and are real miracles.”

Having been a patron for the disease, Catherine says although awareness and treatment of the “silent killer” has improved in the last two decades, more needs to be done.

“The earlier it’s discovered the better the chance of survival. If you have any of the symptoms then go to your doctor.

“There are too many women dying from this disease, two every two hours in the UK. We need to get these statistics down.”