Alex

Alex’s story

September 2025

Fundraising

When I was really scared about my future, Prospect Hospice were right by my side so I didn’t feel alone.

I’m Alex, and I’m a patient at Prospect so I’ve seen first-hand the difference you make when you play the raffle and help fundraise for your community hospice.  

Will you join me and play the raffle today? You’ll help Prospect be there for more families at the hardest time in their lives.  You can play here.

Two years ago, I found out that secondary cancer had spread to my spine and hip. My daughter was 9, my son 17. And I was the carer for my husband, who is disabled by long Covid. My whole future changed straight away.   

I’d read that typical life expectancy for my condition is three years. I remember thinking: What can I fit in that time? Will I get to see my daughter go to secondary school? Will I see my son get his university degree? All the things you hope to do. It all came crashing down.

Pretty quickly, the wonderful cancer nurses at the Great Western Hospital referred me to Prospect Hospice. At the time, I didn’t think the hospice would help unless it was at the end of life. But that’s not the case at all.  

My cancer means I’m at risk of sudden paralysis, and I was really worried about what would happen. I’m not afraid of dying but I am afraid of not being able to walk or look after my husband and children properly. That was my biggest fear.  

Kim from Prospect’s Family Support Team visited us at home, and I got the chance to ask lots of questions. She said we could get a hospital bed for our living room really quickly if we needed one. And, if I wanted a break or time to heal after an operation, I could stay at the hospice so my symptoms would be managed. She was so reassuring.  

It was later I found out that all this amazing care was free of charge. And that the government provides just 18% of the funding the hospice needs to stay open and provide specialist care. That’s why your support for the raffle is so urgent.   

I also visited the hospice as an outpatient to help me manage my pain. It was wonderful to get this care and find the headspace to catch up with everything that was happening to me.  

It was helpful to see what the hospice looks like on the inside, too. I saw a patient out in the sunshine in the garden, which was lovely. It felt like a safe, warm space. A home from home. I could picture what would happen when the time comes for me, and I could tell that I will be looked after when I need it.    

Prospect took away a lot of my fears, and the anxiety I felt about being ill. If there’s an emergency, I know I’ll be able to contact the team and they will help me quickly. 

This summer, I’m hoping to spend special time with family and friends. Swim in the sea, go for walks on the beach, watch the sunset. All the time I know that, with Prospect, I won’t be alone, and we won’t be forgotten.  

Prospect are specialists and whatever happens, it’s not going to be a surprise to them. They’ll know what I need before I do! And they’ll take the strain off my family during the years I have left.  Right now, Prospect is there for all of us in our community across Swindon and north-east Wiltshire – but they urgently need our support to keep their doors open.  

 

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