This Blood Cancer Awareness Month, local author Anthony Hyde has chosen to donate his September profits from his book “The Leukaemia Diaries: Seeing The Funnier Side of Cancer” to raise money for Leukaemia Care.
It is a cause close to the town and charity’s hearts as the father of Leukaemia Care’s campaigns officer, who has lived in Witney for 20 years, was diagnosed with the disease in 2017.
Initially, Anthony decided to write the book as a way of explaining what he went through to his loved ones; but as he began writing, he found it became a way to record all the funny stories that both he and his wife experienced through the process of diagnosis and treatment.
As time went on, Anthony found the book to be much more than family memoir. He said, “after my diagnosis, I began to talk to more people who were going through various stages of cancer like myself, and I found myself wanting to help them – giving them a shoulder to cry on and offering a bit of positivity and humour. Then on, my overriding wish was that the book might help other cancer sufferers and their loved ones. I said to my wife that if I could help just one person, then it would be worthwhile”
Since publishing his book in 2020, ‘The Leukaemia Diaries’ has exceeded Anthony’s expectations and has been sold to nearly 1,000 readers around the world who have found comfort in knowing they are not alone in their Leukaemia Diagnosis.
After finding out that his daughter, Emma, got the job as Campaigns Officer for Leukaemia Care, Anthony has wanted to get involved with the charity to help raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of Leukaemia. He said, “I was so proud and humbled when I heard Emma would be working for the charity and since that point, we have talked about ways we could work together. When Blood Cancer Awareness Month and #SpotLeukaemia campaign for September was mentioned, we thought it would be the perfect event to get involved in.”
Mia Rawlinson, Community Fundraising Officer at Leukaemia Care, said, “we are so grateful for Anthony choosing to donate his September profits from his book sales to Leukaemia Care this Blood Cancer Awareness month. The money raised will help us to continue to support all those affected by blood cancer. Patients and their loved ones have been especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Anthony’s fundraising means we can continue to provide much-needed support in these difficult times.”
To find out more about Anthony’s book ‘The Leukaemia Diaries’ head to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leukaemia-Diaries-Seeing-Funnier-Cancer or visit his fundraising page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anthony-hyde1
To find out more about the #SpotLeukaemia campaign head to www.spotleukaemia.org.uk
