7th Aug 08 - Aerobatics in Manchester City Airfield
8th Aug 08 - Flamingo land
13th/14th AUG 08 - Sleeping with sharks
21st aug - Alton towers
29th aug - Girls aloud
26th nov - High school musical
cattyaustin@yahoo.co.uk
07775572960

Pierre is back in the building…and taking to the sky! With Bob on holiday in Skegvegas, our favourite celebrity is without his trusted camera man…and actually missing him! There’s competition on board the bus as Darney- cancer patient of the year 2005 is sat next to Pierre- a force not to be reckoned with! As Pierre prepares to become a pilot, he attempts to reconcile the situation with Darney…and even manages to pose for a photograph together…but Pierre has other plans on his agenda! We soon discover Pierre has been telling a few porkies…is he really cancer patient of the year 2008 as well?! After a long day at the airfield, Pierre chills out in bed, watching his widescreen telly and wait a minute…is that Debs I hear in the background?

In this second instalment, we join Anthony for a bounce and a stretch as he has a physio gym session at the hospital, followed by a game of pool, which Anthony loses… but we’ll let him off considering he does have a cast on his arm! As Anthony travels back to London, we follow his journey back to the hospital where he’s busy glowing in the dark with funky pens and stopping to chat to the nurses. Anthony is in high spirits as he prepares to have his cast taken off…maybe he’ll be able to win a game of pool now!

Here we are introduced properly to Anthony, a university student who was diagnosed with cancer whilst still studying away from home. Anthony highlights the good points of having cancer when a brand new, shiny free laptop arrives for him- not something you get in the post everyday! To give us an insight into what life is like, Anthony gives us a tour of his halls of residence, where his roommates, mostly guys, are cooking up a storm…. even if it doesn’t look very appetising! Anthony stops to talk to various friends, who talk about what it felt like to find out Anthony had been diagnosed at such a young age and how it’s made them realise it could happen to anybody, no matter how old you are. The sun is shining as we get a lovely tour around Brighton pier and the surrounding beach, before its time to go back to school as Anthony takes a visit to the school room in the hospital, where, surprisingly everyone is really eager to learn!

Budgie the helicopter eat your heart out! From the rink to the air, the Cambridge crew certainly know how to have a good time, whether it’s on land or in the air. This time, it’s up in the clouds as some well known faces take to the skies and try their hand at flying at Fenland airfield. Whatever will it be next?!

Gavin gives us a tour of the place he spent quite a bit of time…Belfast City Hospital, showing us various features and giving us a running commentary of what life is like when you are living in hospital surroundings constantly. Gavin’s mum also talks about life in hospital, and explains how you just have to take each day as it comes as some days are better than others. The view from Gavin’s room is an impressive one, with views of the city all around…a bit like a five star hotel really! Gavin talks about how important it is to stay positive and how keeping in contact with friends and family is vital to keep your spirits up. During his time in hospital, Gavin also explains how he got through over 100 DVD’s- an impressive number even for the most avid film watcher!

In this latest instalment, Alice explains how she is feeling as she continues on with her difficult schedule, which is mainly tiredness and generally feeling “rubbish”. With an ongoing pain in her shoulder, Alice prepares for a review to get to the underlying issue, but soon finds out the real problem…shingles! Just as she thought things were sorted, Alice wakes up to a blinding headache causing her awful pain and an emergency trip to Addenbrookes is called upon where Alice discovers more than she bargained for when they tell her she has suspected meningitis. After having a series of tests at the hospital, meningitis is soon off the agenda as Alice discovers she has a head tumour, located on the surface of her brain, on membrane called the meninges. With more knock backs than even imaginable, Alice still stays inspirationally positive and has a strong plan of attack once more- five lots of high dose radiotherapy on her head and despite everything, still plans to take her exams…and organise a party for Friday night!

Home at last, Cherith talks about her excitement at being back in Belfast and reunited with some of her family. As she adapts to life away from her brother, Cherith also explains how she is feeling a mixture of emotions and is glad to be home and having a break from things, yet feels as though she should be with Jonathan back in Bristol. With an extensive amount of packing to do, Cherith shows us round her room, which, by the looks of things is housing a million different outfits all ready to be put in the suitcase! After a relaxing break at home and finally all packed, Cherith prepares to travel back to Bristol and looks forward to seeing Jonathan again, but not before she introduces us to her beloved dog Jess, although some how I don’t think she’ll be able to fit her in the case!

Race for life day has finally arrived and team Bonnie are out in full force and raring to go! With their legs stretched and their trainers on both feet, the 5k race begins with Bonnie at the front leading the way and giving us a running commentary of how her race skills are shaping up. As they near the end, it’s tempting to stop, but Bonnie just keeps on going until she reaches that finish line! Back at home, the chocolate is out and the legs are resting as everyone, including Bonnie feels worn out after their active morning, which has raised a staggering two and a half thousand pounds for Cancer Research. With the race completed and everyone recovered, Bonnie gives us a summary of the past few days, including a trip to the hospital to have her stomach drained, in which 3 litres of liquid were drained, an amount Bonnie represents with three cartons of fruit juice! As her holiday approaches, Bonnie looks forward to having a break away from home and rejuvenating on a boating holiday. We get a tour around the boat in question and some of the beautiful surrounding scenery as Bonnie has a well deserved break from normality and enjoys herself surrounded by her family, her friends and the sunshine.

In this film we meet Jodie, whose brother Shawn was diagnosed with cancer only a month ago. As she goes about her sisterly duties, (i.e. fetching copious amounts of pot noodle from the shops!) Jodie explains how the news of Shawn’s diagnosis is still very raw but manages to keep going by keeping herself and Shawn motivated and providing him with everything he needs. Equipped with lots of helpful advice, Jodie also stresses the importance of positive thinking and staying strong, no matter what the situation. With the town centre only being a short walk from the hospital and Shawn needing regular nutrition in the form of McDonald’s milkshakes, Jodie explains how thankful she is for the convenience and also the fact that there’s a pub just around the corner!

It’s all go go go as both radiotherapy and exams get underway and Alice prepares for the busy schedule ahead of her. With radiotherapy everyday for the next 4 ½ weeks, Alice explains how she can’t wait to get it all over and done with and get on with life as normal. On the foot front, a successful period of driving again without any pain fills Alice with bundles of confidence and relief at the thought of finally being crutch free. After missing it first time round due to previous treatment, an apprehensive Alice prepares for her maths exam and reports back after to tell us how it went… with complete success of course! A weekend away in London with friends at the Give It A Name festival comes as a welcome break from treatment and exams and gives Alice a chance to see some of her all time favourite bands play, even if a late night getting back home does cause sore eyes the next day! As Alice’s tough schedule of radiotherapy continues, she explains how treatment isn’t what’s worrying her most. In true Alice form, passing her exams and continuing with revision are her main concerns, even with the side effects of treatment causing her to feel tired and lethargic… leaving us wondering where she gets her energy from!

After Cherith’s brother Jonathan was diagnosed with Leukaemia over a year ago, life has been very different. As Cherith tells her story, she talks us through the range of emotions that come with finding out a sibling has been diagnosed with cancer and how she coped with watching other family members deal with her brother’s diagnosis. Cherith explains how at first, she didn’t know how to take the news and wishes she had known more about the illness to begin with as it made her angry and upset when she didn’t know what the future held. We also get to meet Jonathan himself, who, by the looks of things is taking a definite lead in the race to eat as many chicken pies as possible with a record of three per day! Cherith also talks us through the first time she saw Jonathan in hospital and how emotional it was to see someone she loved in such a shocking environment. After spending some time away from home, Cherith looks forward to going back to normality and seeing her dog again, although in true sibling style, Jonathan seems more occupied with The Simpsons than waving his sister off!