Friends hold fundraiser after Carleton girl, 20, is diagnosed with leukaemia (From Craven Herald)

Friends hold fundraiser after Carleton girl, 20, is diagnosed with leukaemia

7:00am Thursday 7th February 2013 in News By Clive White, Senior Reporter

Ellie Beynon felt numb when she was told she had leukaemia only a few hours after she was admitted to St James’s Hospital in Leeds.

She got the diagnosis just before her friends were due to visit her on the ward and she was still trying to come to terms with her emotions, said the 20-year-old from Carleton.

She had only spotted the bruise on her leg a day or so before and had been fast-tracked for treatment by her doctor.

“I know it sounds a cliché, but it’s not something you ever expect will happen to you. I didn’t even know if I would tell my friends but when I saw them I had to tell them – I couldn’t keep it from them,” said Ellie.

And it was those friends who, wanting to show their support, set about a fundraising event to raise cash for the teenage cancer ward where Ellie must remain in treatment until March 13.

So, on Saturday, at Fat Face in High Street, Skipton, where Ellie works, two windows are being devoted to the fundraiser which will involve a raffle and a cake sale.

Friend and work colleague Alex Stubbs said: “Ellie is handling it so well. She is so positive.

“We’re hoping that other shops will contribute to the raffle and we’ll all be baking. We’re also trying to get Skipton Rugby Union Club to help as well.”

Ellie, whose boyfriend David Brame, also of Carleton, is a trainee officer at Sandhurst, is involved in a clinical trial in which doctors are using arsenic instead of conventional chemotherapy.

“When I spoke about having my arsenic at first friends thought it was my way of joking about the treatment. But it’s true,” said Ellie. “I don’t feel at all unwell – a little tired that’s all. I never felt ill when I was diagnosed.

“I saw a bruise on my leg just after Christmas. A few days after David went back to Sandhirst, I saw a bruise again on my leg and thought it was a bit dodgy.

“I went to my doctor and she sent me straightaway to Airedale where I had tests and then on to St James’s. It was so quick.”

She said the ward where she was being treated was especially for 18 to 25-year- olds and it was fantastic because she was mixing with people of her own age and they could get on with “playing pool, watching Sky and having pizza nights.”

If anyone wants to support Ellie they should contact Alice or Nick at Fat Face on 01756 798862.