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Scunthorpe Telegraph

Thursday, October 31 - Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Breaking news 24/7 on scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk

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IN BRIEF ...
Milk van crash
A MILK float crashed into a ditch in Westwoodside spilling 25 litres of milk into a nearby watercourse. The vehicle crashed into a ditch on Idle Bank, spilling the equivalent of 44 pints. Humberside Fire and Rescue Service rescued one person from the vehicle in the ditch using a short extension ladder. The casualty suffered slight neck and shoulder pain, and was left in the care of ambulance staff and police. The Environment Agency was informed about the spillage, which happened at 3.15am on Monday.

Well raise 25,000 to beat rare breast cancer

A MUM of two battling a rare form of breast cancer is halfway to raising 25,000 for revolutionary life-saving treatment. Anna Verrico, 36, was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer known as triple negative in October last year. Triple negative is more aggressive than other forms of the disease and does not respond to common hormone therapies. At the time of diagnosis, Anna, who

BY SELINA MAYCOCK selina.maycock@gsmg.co.uk Twitter: @Selina_scuntel

lives in Epworth with her husband, Paul, and children Lucia, 3, and Alessandro, 1, was reassured the cancer had been caught early with surgery appearing to have had positive results. She had been given the all-clear in June following six cycles of

Top sausages

SPECIALITY sausages from Uncle Henrys Farm Shop have reached the regional finals for British Sausage Week. The farm shops Argy Bargy sausage has been named one of the East Midlands regional cook-off finalists for British Sausage Week, which starts on Monday. The sausage has been made by butcher Baz Jarvis, using locally produced pork and Mr Hudas Chefs Secrets universal marinade paste and mango chutney. The East Midlands final will be judged in Nottingham on Tuesday, November 5.

Charity quiz

A QUIZ night, in aid of Lindsey Lodge Hospice, is due to be held at Ashby Decoy Golf Club tonight. Guests are asked to arrive at 7pm for a 7.30pm start, with teams of six required. For details, contact Anne on 01724 843731.

History meet

THE Brigg Amateur Social Historians will gather for their November meeting at the towns Servicemens Club in Coney Court on Tuesday (November 5) at 8pm. There is no admission fee.

FUNDRAISING: Anna and Paul Verrico with children Lucia and Alessandro Pictures: Steve Oatway Photography

chemotherapy, and started to become her old self once again. But after signing up for the Isle half-marathon, it soon became apparent that something was wrong. In August I had just got to the point where I was confident in running again, Anna said. The next time I went out, I felt short of breath and struggled to complete an eight-mile circuit. I went to the doctor and was told I had a chest infection, this turned into pneumonia. I went back to my cancer specialist who took one look at me and started making urgent phone calls. Two days later Anna and her family were told the cancers growth had not stopped, despite treatment, and had spread to her lungs. I was terrified, said Anna. My husband and I didnt sleep for a week it seemed so harsh that after all the struggle, it was all going to end like this. I know it seems silly, but I was also worried about the half-marathon I had organised for a lot of our friends to run with me, and I didnt want to let them, or the charity down. Behind the scenes, husband Paul

was desperately searching for a doctor who could help. He said: With the greatest of respect, we did not want to go back to the oncologist who had treated Anna previously his chemotherapy combination had not worked. So I used my social media network and reached out to about 750,000 people asking for help. One name kept coming back. That name was Professor Justin Stebbing. Mr Stebbing is a Harley Street practitioner who has written more than 400 articles on breast cancer and is chairman of the charity Action Against Cancer. We met him and were bowled over, said Anna. He outlined an aggressive treatment regime that included draining my lung and taking additional experimental drugs to combat the spread of the cancer. He also recommended we extract part of the tumour, clone it, and test additional therapy on the clones to maximise the efficiency of treatments down the line. A number of the options discussed were not covered by the familys health insurance so friends, family and the local community sprung into action. Aware of the familys circumstances, the half-marathon event organisers arranged a fun run for Team Verrico. Anna was one of 400 people who completed the course, running over the finish line hand-in-hand with daughter Lucia. In addition to the 20,000 already raised for cancer charities, one of Pauls colleagues, Emily Farmer, organised donations on the day towards a fighting fund

to support the experimental oncology treatment estimated to cost 25,000. The first 1,000 in the pot was realised by the fun runners and supporters on this day, with further donations coming from local eateries, MoJos and JDs cafe, who each donated a proportion of their takings from the half-marathon to the fund.

We never expected that we would need to rely on that spirit to fund potentially life-saving treatment
Paul Verrico
The family has managed to raise 16,000 to date towards the experimental oncology treatment. Paul said: The generosity of spirit is something over and above what anyone would expect. We have always been ambassadors for Epworth and told all of our family and friends that they should locate here, citing community spirit as one of the main attractions. We never expected that we would need to rely on that spirit to fund potentially life-saving treatment and we cannot adequately articulate our gratitude to all of those who have pledged time, effort and funds to our cause. To help the family, visit www.justgiving.com/teams/ TeamVerrico

Local businesses rally to bolster funds

LOCAL photographer Steve Oatway was one of the first to offer his services. He had previously taken some family photos as part of his everyday job and had offered to photograph the half marathon to give Anna and the family a physical image of the local support. He also organised a naked photo shoot for a charity calendar. He said: The Lingerie Boutique, on Epworth High Street, chose to pose naked in their shop window, at around 5.30pm. JDs cafe had 10 patrons behaving entirely normally, save that they are missing their clothes, and Albion Bakery had a summer tea party again, minus their outer wear. A launch night for the calendars is planned for November 29 in Epworth town centre. Other local businesses have flooded to support the fighting fund. Sunspot beauty salon provided hair and make-up for the naked calendar, and held a Pink Mania day. FIGHTING FUND: Anna Verrico with daughter Lucia venues and has asked for a donation at each to be given to the fund. Scunthorpe United have invited the family and 10 volunteers to collect at the Irons home match against Accrington Stanley, while a team of friends are running the Market Rasen 10k and the Isle of Axholme Lions donated 1,500. The Wortley Hotel, Scunthorpe, is hosting VE fest on November 15 where several bands will aim to wow the crowds, who will be asked for a donation to the fund. Epworth retailer Vanilla opened its doors for a breast cancer awareness evening and donated 10 per cent of takings to the Fighting Fund. The family has employed a cleaner since Annas initial diagnosis that lady has declined to accept her wages to bolster the fund. Nicola Codd has organised a swishing event where local families can exchange unwanted clothes. And local pub, the Old School Inn, raised 220 with a raffle and then a further 675 with a charity golf day.

Elsewhere, Crowle Emporium is raffling its famous pink chair; the Duke William pub in Haxey is raffling a number of items and Absolute Cabs in Doncaster is donating 10 per cent of all fares taken during a chosen week. Epworth plumbing and heating engineer, Kevin Shingler, has donated his full takings for a week and Epworth councillor Bob Fish has recently given talks at a number of