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Wheatfields Hospice: 'Tough circumstances' bring friends together
They have both faced agonising battles with cancer and became the best of friends during the toughest of circumstances.
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But it was their weekly visits to Wheatfields Hospice which helped them uncover their artistic talents... and change their lives forever.
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Sally Porter and Christine McGowan are joining forces to celebrate the success of the day therapy unit at the Hospice which brought them together as they overcame the odds to survive cancer.
Christine said: "I wasn't keen on Wheatfields at first because my father and my sister's partner died there. For them, it was like a top-class hotel, but I just didn't like the association that people have with the hospice movement.
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"But the day unit helped me put my life back on track. I've met Sally and it's taught me to be positive and enjoy life."
Sally, 59, of Yeadon, and Christine, 61, of Armley, now attend the hospice's drop-in centre after being discharged from the day unit.
Both have entered paintings in Sue Ryder Care's Art Liberating Lives competition after discovering their hidden artistic talents.
Sally was diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow in 2002, while Christine was first diagnosed with cancer 20 years ago and has since fought painful battles with lyphoma, which is now in remission.
Mum-of-one Christine said: "I was already there when Sally started attending. She was very quiet and kept herself to herself, just like me, and it was only when we were both discharged that I asked for her number and said I'd give you a call.
"It all just went from there. We've been on holiday together and done courses together. Although we are different in many ways we also have a lot in common and our close friendship is something special."
Sally, who enrolled in a two-year art course after her time at Wheatfields, said: "This place is like an oasis, they make you feel so safe. It is hard to define but there is something about this place that makes you smile again."
"Wheatfields is like a family, in fact we both feel we have two families, our own at home and this one here at the hospice."
The Art Liberating Lives competition is open until October 21.
* For more information, visit: www.sue rydercare.org
* For more information about the drop-in service at Wheatfields, call (0113) 2787249 and ask for the day therapy unit.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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