A SUPPORT organisation set up to honour a 21-year-old Wrexham woman who died of cancer is celebrating its second anniversary.
My Name Is NOT Cancer (MNINC) was founded by Fiona Fletcher following the death of her daughter Megan, and aims to help people living with cancer to retain their identity and sense of self.
Fiona, of Wern, Bersham, has since collaborated with the Youth Cancer Trust and has been a guest on BBC Radio Wales and ITV Wales.
She ran successful workshops at the Third National Cancer Conference and also spoke at a recent conference of the Lymphoma Association.
And last year she was named Woman Of The Year at The Forward Ladies’ Women in Business Awards.
She said: “I am absolutely overwhelmed with the progress we have made, but it’s all down to those individuals who have been empowered by MNINC.
“It’s important to reflect on how far we have come in order to keep grounded.
“We have got some very exciting initiatives lined up, which we will reveal soon.”
Megan spent her early school years at Minera Primary School and her secondary education was in Dubai where her father Ian worked in health and safety.
She fell ill on a Eurotrip adventure holiday in Austria in 2008 and had to return home.
She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January, 2009, and told she would need six months of chemotherapy, but after treatment a scan showed the cancer had grown.
Megan was forced to defer university and then had another intensive three months of chemotherapy, this time on the Shooting Star ward of the Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
She had her final bout of chemotherapy at The Christie Hospital in Manchester but another scan before Christmas 2009 revealed Megan was chemotherapy-resistant.
She died in 2010.
The next project in the pipeline is the launch of the MNINC Identity Day on Saturday, May 4, in which people are invited to wear a butterfly-themed item of clothing or accessory to promote the cause.
The day will celebrate the identity of any person affected by cancer and promotes the support offered by cancer charities across the UK.
If you or your organisation would like to get involved, email beth@mynameisnotcancer.com