After raising £85,000 - including by auctioning off the shirt his footballing son wore to beat Manchester United 5-0 - Jordan Henderson's dad Brian has seen the vital piece of NHS kit they paid for put into action.
Brian, 68, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. He had cancer of the throat, tongue and lymph glands and was cared for at Sunderland Royal. He has also since been treated for skin cancer.
After his own experience, the family have sought to raise thousands to boost cancer care at their local hospital. Now, Brian has returned to Sunderland Royal to visit with consultant Frank Stafford and speech and language team lead Laura-Jane Watson - and they saw the new Xion Flexible Nose Endoscopy Kit in action.
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The equipment has a super-fine camera and can both help look for tumours and play a role in helping patients recover during speech and language therapy sessions.
Brian said: “We are absolutely delighted that it is now making a difference. I’ve had these types of tests myself and I know that this will make it a much better experience for other patients.
“Liverpool FC helped us spread the word about the fundraising around the world. We know we had people from Australia, America, New Zealand and Qatar who donated money by buying raffle tickets for the shirts. We also know people here in the North East and particularly Sunderland, helped us reach our target.
“We’re grateful to the media and Sunderland AFC, who helped get our message out there and helped us raise this money – it was a team effort."
The family's dedication to the NHS is also seen through the way in which Liverpool FC captain Jordan - who was made an MBE in 2021- - has helped raise money for NHS Charities Together.
Brian continued: "It could have been easy to ask Jordan if he and other players could help, but it was important to me that we raised the money,” Brian added. "Jordan and all our family were delighted we did it and that we managed ourselves. We can’t forget that Jordan himself has also raised millions for the NHS."
Laura-Jayne Watson, added: "This piece of kit helps us carry out a quick assessment which can then lead to faster treatment for our patients. It also connects up to our IT system, so other people can see and review the footage as well. It’s a fantastic piece of technology to add to what we already had.
“We are extremely grateful to Brian and Donna for their generous donation. It will make a huge difference to the service we provide and to the patients we see."
Frank Stafford, Brian’s consultant, has forged a firm friendship with Brian and Donna following his treatment and helped support the funding work.
He said: "Brian is an incredible role model for patients who are facing treatment for cancer, his positive attitude to dealing with the disease and recovering from the rigours of surgery and chemoradiotherapy has been inspirational for us all.
"We are very grateful that, with Donna, he has mobilised the generosity of the people of Sunderland to provide equipment for the Speech and Swallowing therapists to improve their ability to help patients recover more effectively and monitor those still at risk of recurrence of head and neck cancer."
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