A new support group for cancer sufferers and their loved ones has been set up in a Stockport pub.
Landlady Helen Partington offered The Grey Horse – a Joseph Holt pub – as the meeting spot for new cancer support group the Crosby Foundation, founded by Colleen Crosby, 40.
Colleen, who was told in December that she was in remission from breast cancer, said: “When I was going through chemotherapy apart from going to appointments, walking the dog or going to the supermarket there was little else I could do. Of course, you can have supportive family and friends, which is very important.
“But it’s still a very lonely journey since nobody understood what I was going through or what the treatment made me feel like. Those were the people I really wanted to talk to.
“That’s why I felt it was so important to set up the Crosby Foundation and why I was so thrilled when Helen offered the Grey Horse. It’s such a warm and welcoming pub – perfect for the kind of informal group we are.”
Colleen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and had suffered with basal cell carcinoma – a type of skin cancer that develops on areas of skin exposed to the sun – in 2022.
Helen, landlady of the Grey Horse, said: “I didn’t hesitate because I knew how important it would be for those affected by cancer to find somewhere informal to meet, away from a clinical setting.
“Customers on a one-to-one basis have often shared with me how cancer has affected their lives – some of it very sad but also hopeful and uplifting.
“I think they probably felt relaxed doing so in a pub setting like ours which is so warm and welcoming.”
Pub owners Joseph Holt, which runs 127 pubs across the North West, is the longest standing fundraising partner for the Christie Hospital, a Manchester-based cancer treatment centre. To commemorate the brewery’s 175th anniversary, they launched an appeal last year to raise £500,000 for the hospital.
The Crosby Foundation meets every Saturday between 2pm and 4pm and is open to all ages. Further details are available on its Facebook group and the Grey Horse’s page.
Featured image: The inaugural meeting of the Crosby Foundation (Coleen featured in middle) – The Crosby Foundation
