Sharon raises over £2k after breast cancer battle

From left - Darren Leavens, Sharon Jackson, her mum Rita Jones, Liz Ward from the Mill Tearoom and Steve Adams and Callum Kopp from 8 Sail Brewery with images from their Wear It Pink Day. Photo: Andy Hubbert

Sharon Jackson, 48, started planning her fundraiser six months ago in readiness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

She gathered support from friends at her local 8 Sail Brewery bar at the windmill in the village and the Mill Tearoom next door and culminated with a Wear It Pink Friday event at the bar.

Steve Adams, a director at the brewery created a special ‘Pink Beer’ - for Sharon’s event on October 20 where there was pink balloons and bunting and everyone came along wearing pink. He said: “From any sales of the beer on that day we donated £1.”

The following day Sharon and her family organised a barbecue event and 8 Sail Brewery donated a barrel of beer for it.

The fundraising JustGiving page has not closed yet. Last year she raised £501, but this time so far she has collected £2,100 in donations and sponsorship from locals and businesses..

She said: “We have had donations in collection boxes at the brewery and other shops and sold pens, keyrings and badges, organised tombolas and raffles. The Mill Tearoom made and sold special cakes for donations too.”

Heckington playing field pavilion also staged a quiz night, as did Great Hale village hall and Sharon’s partner Darren Leavens died his beard pink while she coloured her hair for donations.Sharon said this is not a one-off and she will continue to fundraise having been diagnosed in 2019 and undergoing a year of treatment. NHS screening for breast cancer only kicks in when women reach the age of 50, but Sharon was only 44 when she found a lump on her breast in the shower.

Sharon said her cancer is known as ‘Triple Negative’ – one of the hardest to treat. She had 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 23 daily sessions of radiotherapy, finishing in March 2020, just before the Covid pandemic hit the UK.

She had joined a Facebook group supporting people going through breast cancer treatment and she admits some on the group have not survived.

“I just want to make people aware of it and get younger women and men to check themselves,” said Sharon.