Almost four years after her death from ovarian cancer, the husband of much-loved BBC broadcaster Dianne Oxberry has launched a special Christmas appeal to raise awareness of the symptoms of the disease.
Ian Hindle, who founded charity the Dianne Oxberry Trust following the death of his wife in January 2019, is asking individuals and businesses to consider supporting the organisation to spread the word about the symptoms of ovarian cancer with people across the North West.
He said: “My wife, Dianne, was such an amazing individual, always full of love and laughter. Christmas was always a very special time for our family, with everyone celebrating together – opening presents, eating too much, then snuggling up to watch TV. I miss her not being here for those moments. We all do.
“The festive season is especially hard, not just because it’s a time we really loved as a family, but also because her ovarian cancer diagnosis came on New Year’s Eve 2018. There’s no history of ovarian cancer in the family. She’d been experiencing a bit of abdominal pain and was slightly tired, but didn’t really have any other symptoms.”
Following her diagnosis on New Year’s Eve, it was just ten days until BBC North West Tonight broadcaster Oxberry died. A huge outpouring of grief followed from people across the region and beyond, with a special memorial held at Manchester Cathedral in her honour. The unexpected show of love inspired Ian and close friends of Dianne to found the charity in her name.
The charity launched its Spread the Word campaign earlier this year, asking people to share their acronym ‘Word’ with others to help raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer:
Weeing more often
Overly bloated feeling
Reduced appetite
Dull ache or pain in the pelvis or tummy
The team also opened a special Dianne Oxberry Rose Garden at MediaCityUK, featuring roses named in her honour, and special signage to further raise awareness of the signs of ovarian cancer.
This Christmas, as the anniversary of Dianne’s death approaches, Hindle is appealing for people to consider making a small donation to help reach even more local people with the Spread the Word campaign.
He added: “I know it’s a difficult time for many at the moment, but a small donation of just £3 would mean we can reach out to 50 people in the North West about the symptoms they should look out for. With £30 we could reach 500 people locally, and if businesses or groups of friends wanted to fundraise in place of their usual Secret Santa or other activity, £300 raised would mean we could reach 5,000 people in the area too. For some, [the campaign] is literally improving their chances of a more positive outcome from the disease. As we found out the hardest way possible, early diagnosis is vital in securing more positive outcomes for ovarian cancer.”
Visit the Dianne Oxberry Trust website to learn more or donate.
