Help is there when you’ll need it most from Maggie's Highlands in Inverness
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There is never a good time to receive a cancer diagnosis but one Inverness woman had quite a few other things on her mind when she received the news.
Shelagh Omondi, who is a 47-year-old from Wimberley Way, had only been married for a few months and they were trying to get her step-daughter to the UK from Kenya.
She said she felt she would not have been able to get through the treatment and subsequent recovery without the help of Inverness-based charity Maggie’s Highlands.
“I honestly think I would have refused treatment. People should come here because it does feel like home,” she added.
The cancer support charity, which is based in the grounds of Raigmore Hospital, has launched the JustGiving Christmas Appeal and organisers are hoping people will donate anything from £1 to £10 to help make a difference.
Maggie’s relies almost entirely on voluntary donations to cover the £500,000 annual running costs – the money will help support the Maggie’s Highlands Children’s Support Group as well as more than 450 people with cancer supported by the charity on a weekly basis.
Mrs Omondi married husband Denis Omondi, who is a corporal with 3 Scots and based at Fort George, in December 2017 and received her breast cancer diagnosis in May the following year.
She said she had found a lump and initially dismissed cancer. She said: “I thought it’s just my imagination. I went to the doctors and the doctor said ‘it’s probably nothing’ but unfortunately it was [cancer].”
Her treatment has involved an operation to remove the lump, 19 sets of radiotherapy, as well as medication with some bad side effects.
Mrs Omondi was told about Maggie’s when she was first diagnosed and initially she put off visiting the centre because she said she was “thrawn” – a Scottish word for stubborn.
However, after finally visiting, she started to receive the help she needed and her husband noticed a positive change in her – and she has been cancer free since last December.
She said: “It was like a weight off my shoulders. They helped me find myself again.”
Seonaid Green, the centre head for Maggie’s Highlands, said they supported around 400 visitors each week.
She added: “Some of our centre visitors are extremely distressed, but most will leave with a smile and feel more confident about what lies ahead.”
• To donate, visit Just Giving to find out more about the centre and services, call 01463 706302.
