Artist returns to hospital to raise cash for cancer patients

Five years on from his initial diagnosis, Alfie Carpenter, who was treated at St James’s Hospital, is hosting an art exhibition to raise money for the charity that supported him during his treatment, Teenage Cancer Trust.

Alfie, now 26, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and was treated at the hospital during his second year at music college in Leeds. As a keen artist, he found comfort in the creative activities organised on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit.

Alfie said: “Art became my escapism during cancer and I used it to help occupy my time and my mind. I often drew from my bedroom window whilst on the unit and some of my work has drawn inspiration from this. Going through cancer is a really frightening experience but the support from the art therapist on the ward meant I could focus on something else other than cancer, look to the future and feel a sense of purpose whilst having fun.”

Now an established musician and landscape painter Alfie has returned to Jimmy’s with ‘Circulation’, an exhibition of his work, which opened yesterday (Friday) and runs until April 29.

Jenny Townsend, Teenage Cancer Trust regional fundraiser, urged people to visit the exhibition and raise money for “desperately needed services.”