How cancer changedmy life Town Talk


SUE Walker woke in the middle of the night with a shooting pain in her chest. Although, the following morn-


ing, she was partially convinced she had dreamt the whole episode, there was no denying the lump she had found in her breast. She told fiancé Rich, and he


urged her to get it checked out. Her GP didn’t think “it would


be anything sinister” but referred her to Maidstone Hospital as a precaution. The hospital rea- soned it was probably a cyst – she was young, with no history of cancer in the family. But they carried out tests to be sure. “I had themall done,” said Sue


of Constitution Hill, Snodland. “And it was only when they asked for a biopsy that I realised this could be a bit more serious than I first thought.” And yet, even when the doctor


was leading her to the consulta- tion room where she would ulti-


Online safety


TEACHERS joined forces with parents this month as part of Safer Internet Day 2019. Snodland Church of England


Primary School invited families in to showcase the work it has been doing with pupils to ensure they are more secure online. Head teacher Ashley Bentley


said: “With the use of technol- ogy advancing at a rapid rate and the level of understanding that our children have, we feel it is imperative that we work to- gether for a better internet.”


Place your bets


IF YOU fancy a flutter on the horses, Snodland Community Centre is holding a Race Night on Saturday, March 9. The doors open at 7.30pm


and the first race is at 8pm, with a bar throughout the evening. The event is organised by Snod- land Town Football Club to raise funds for new changing rooms.


Global learning


YEAR 5 pupils at St Katherine’s School, Snodland, have taken their latest classes worldwide. The youngsters took part in a


recreated global stock market, learnt about the importance of trading and how it differs be- tween countries, and studied im- ports and exports.


THE Holmesdale School has ap- pealed to a small minority of pupils who ride bicycles in a “reckless”manner around Snod- land to think again. Riders have been seen pulling


wheelies in the middle of the road and cutting across oncom- ing traffic while not wearing crash helmets. The school’smanagement has


expressed the worry that the per- petrators must “avoid a tragedy in the making”. Now the issue is being investi- gated by police and preventative


action will be supported by the school’s management. The school’s Facebook page


carried this warning to pupils: “A minority of students are display- ing poor behaviour when riding their bikes on the roads around Snodland. “This often involves students


pulling “wheelies” whilst riding down the middle of the road as well as cutting across lanes in front of oncoming traffic. “This behaviour is incredibly


dangerous, particularly as most of themare not wearing helmets,


breast cancer..... is that what you were expecting to hear today?’ and I remember nothing else. “I didn't know it at the time,


due to the horrific shock I'd just received, but my life had sud- denly changed. No more new job. I had a life-threatening ill- ness at 31. Surely that wasn’t right? Suddenlymy new job was breast cancer, and it consumed every waking hour of my life.” Today, after surgery, chemo


mately be told she had breast cancer, her mind was still fo- cussed on the everyday… her new job as a primary school teacher. “I was three weeks into a new


term, I had planning and mark- ing to do for the following day,” she said. “But then I remember the doctor saying ‘It's probably


and radiotherapy, Sue is two years clear of cancer. She is full of praise for the medics who treated her… and for a Kent- based charity that supported her “mind, body and soul”. “Throughout treatment I lost


my hair, my energy, my inde- pendence and my spark,” she said. “Chemotherapy was par- ticularly tough on me and I felt very isolated and alone. Then I was introduced to an amazing charity – YouCan.” The charity supports young


people aged 10 to 35 who are faced with cancer. It is aimed not only at patients, but also the families of those affected. Sue said: “YouCan is there for


an age group that isn’t tradition- ally associated with this illness. It gaveme the opportunity tomix with people who, although they may have had different cancers, were going through the same challenges as me. “People who are diagnosed


young in life face age-specific is- sues – they may be in the process of changing schools, going to university, starting work or planning a family.” The charity had such a pro-


found effect on Sue, she no longer works in primary educa- tion but is employed as You- Can’s development coordinator. The organisation was named on World Cancer Day (February 4) as one of the good causes being supported by Snodland Co-op Community Fund in 2019.


Flytippers’ suite leaves sour taste


IT just wasn’t cricket. Roly Kinslow, who carries out


site maintenance for Snodland Town Council,was surprisedwhen he turned up for work at the cricket meadow in January and found this three-piece suite dumped in themiddle of the field. If you know anything that


could help police track down those responsible for this fly-tip- ping,


report online at


www.kent.police.uk, or call 101. Alternatively, you could con-


tact the independent charity Crimestoppers in Kent anony- mously on 0800 555 111.


School’s warning to nuisance riders


and there are increasing levels of bad feeling from the local community towards these stu- dents.” The posting added: “These


acts of reckless behaviour are being looked into by police and as a school we will support any action that needs to happen. “Please ensure that you are all


acting responsibly at all times and understand that this mes- sage is not to ruin your enjoy- ment of riding your bike, but to ensure that we avoid a potential tragedy in the making.”


Local news for Snodland and Halling


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