Plucky Pat's fight for cancer charity

Pat Davitt with Fiona Dundas from Macmillan.

When plucky Pat Davitt, 75, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May last year, she refused to give up her part-time job selling bric-a-brac at Central Methodist Church on Adelaide Street in Blackpool every Wednesday to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Research.

Now she is celebrating her 13th year of fund-raising - and a grand total of £70,000 donated to the charity.

She said: “My mother had cancer and when they started building the cancer unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital I thought it would be nice to raise some money and I’ve been doing it ever since.

“It’s super. I love it. You meet some very nice people and you listen to their cancer problems and it helps them.

“My family say I should slow down but I’ll wait and see what happens. I’m very tired but I’ve been through chemotherapy and radio therapy.”

The mother-of-two runs the charity stall with the help of her husband, Ken 75. The couple, who live just off Whitegate Drive, have been together for more than 60 years and recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

Mr Davitt said: “I’m proud of her. I’m proud of the way she has taken to the cancer and hasn’t let it slow her down at all.

“She started making little nick-nacks and selling them and then people started coming in and they would say ‘can you sell some books’ or ‘can you sell some clothes’.

“When she started she had two tables and now she’s got 12. She never turns anything down to sell. There’s a lot of people who want to support good causes and even if they have no money they’ll come in and have a cup of tea and say hello. There are people who come all the way from Bolton and Manchester.”

He added that they intend to stick to their goal of raising at least £6,000 a year for cancer research for as long as they can.

Mrs Davitt said: “The treatment and support I have had has been fantastic from both Macmillan and the Rosemere Cancer Foundation. I hope the money I raise can go towards making sure other people with cancer get good care.

“That’s why we do it really – to go towards the care.”