The Cornwall cancer sufferer spreading Christmas cheer from hospital beds

[Rob Thompson]

The Cornwall cancer sufferer spreading Christmas cheer from hospital beds

Source - Cornwall News

By - Evie Townend

Date - 19-10-2021

'It’s no Captain Tom, but a little goes a long way'
The first thing on the mind of most people when they receive dreadful news is not usually how they can help others.

 

However, David Gold from Hayle is an exception. When he was given the worst news imaginable, he launched a crowdfunding page to help those less fortunate than himself.

Three years ago, David had a third of his bowel removed to get rid of a cancerous tumour. In March, doubts were cast over his remission and he began months of vigorous testing which in October found that “the same ‘c’ as last time” had returned to his enlarged lymph nodes, he said.

The very same week as he received his latest diagnosis and began immunotherapy treatment, he opened a crowdfunding page to raise money for people less fortunate than himself over Christmas. Through friends, families and colleagues, the page has already raised £830 in only 10 days, remarkably surpassing David’s initial target of raising £500 before Christmas.

“Three years ago, during the Russia World Cup, we raised £400 for a bowel cancer charity and so I thought why not do another fundraiser this time. It was sort of on a whim”, David said.

He plans to donate the money to a local food bank to distribute Christmas hampers, give away a “truck-load” of selection boxes and spread cheer to staff at local hospitals.

“It’s no ‘Captain Tom’, but a little goes a long way”, David said

David’s humility, humour and positivity are clear as he thanked the NHS for “giving his lymph nodes a helping hand” and expressed his gratitude for donations- “to say that I am grateful is an understatement”.

It is also clear that David has touched and inspired many, with comments including: “amazing to be thinking of others while going through so much yourself” from Julia Kerr, and “you spread some smiles”, from Carol Holiday.

Commenting on his own situation, he said: “If the worst was to happen, there’s no point wallowing in self-pity, you’ve got to make the most of it”. David received his bowel cancer diagnosis at only 43 and so he also hopes that the campaign can start conversations and raise awareness for the disease.

While we are still some months away from Christmas and the festive windup of carols, advent calendars and tinsel are still to come, you can’t help but feel cheered by David’s brave and resilient spirit.

[Rob Thompson]

Talk about motivational, its gestures like this that reconnect or should reconnect people with their social conscience. He is a real Santa in my book   

[Santa SteveKl]

The true spirit of Christmas is all about giving and this man is giving more than just time or funds, he is giving his heart. That is what Christmas is about and I agree he is a real Santa!