'Grand' time at cancer patient's fundraising 50th

Laura Trivett-Sanchez, who is currently participating in a study investigating hereditary cancer, will donate the cash to Cancer Research UK.
The 50-year-old mother of three and grandmother of one, a teaching assistant at Hungerford Nursing School, said: “I’d like to thank the good people of Hungerford for supporting me through some very tough times. Everyone has been so kind.”
Mrs Trivett-Sanchez lost her husband, Andrew Trivett, to a brain tumour on Christmas Day in 2004. Two weeks later, her father Alan Curtis died, aged 79.
Mr and Mrs Curtis were well known in Hungerford, having run a cafe on the Bath Road during the 1950s. Mrs Trivett-Sanchez said: “Dad also invested in, and helped build, Meadowview Squash Club.”
Two years after her father died, her mother Anne Curtis died of ovarian cancer, aged 74.
But life had another blow in store for Mrs Trivett-Sanchez, of Atherton Road.
She said: “Last March I was diagnosed with skin cancer.”
Two operations followed and meanwhile Mrs Trivett-Sanchez agreed to participate in a study researching possible hereditary factors in cancers.
She is currently well and goes for check-ups every four months. She said: “Because I and others could benefit from the study, I wanted to put something back. So I turned my 50th birthday party into a fundraising event.
“I asked my family and friends to dress in pink or blue to match Cancer Research UK logo colours and asked everyone to make a donation instead of buying me cards or presents. We also held a raffle and an auction.”
The party, at Herongate Leisure centre, raised £1,015.85 for Cancer Research UK.