Long-serving Irchester NHS worker Ceri-Anne to brave the shave for KGH to mark retirement

A long-serving NHS worker will brave the shave on her retirement to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Kettering General Hospital's new cancer resource centre.

Ceri-Anne Hocking, who lives in Irchester, has a very personal reason for choosing the charities as six of her close family members died of cancer within an 18-year period.

After 40 years in the NHS, most of it with KGH, Ceri-Anne will take early retirement from her role as head of commissioning at the trust and to mark the day she will say goodbye to her shoulder-length hair.

Ceri-Anne said: "Before I go, I want to give something back to both the hospital for their new cancer resource centre and also to Macmillan.

"Macmillan is a charity close to my heart, with my mum, gramp, great aunt and great uncle and my aunt and uncle having all died from cancer within 18 years of each other - still in our late 40s my sister, cousin and I found ourselves the oldest generation in our family.

"As a family we have seen first-hand the amazing care the NHS and Macmillan gave during this difficult time - and they still do, to millions of people."

Her 'gramp' Arthur Mills, owner of Express Dry Cleaners in Rushden, died in 1991 of prostate cancer. Only four years later, Ceri-Anne's mum Pamela Ann Hocking died at the at of 51 with lung cancer. A year later aunt Patricia Mills died of breast cancer - her husband David died in 2008 from kidney cancer. Ceri-Anne's great uncle Bernard Beeby died of leukaemia in 2001 and his wife, great aunt Edna, died of bladder cancer in 2009.

Ceri-Anne said: "It's been hard. My grandma buried her husband, her daughter and her daughter-in-law.

"We were blessed with so much support. Gramp and mum both died at home with Macmillian nurses coming in.

"This has felt like the right thing to do. I won't be wearing a wig because I want people to ask me about it. It's important that we keep that conversation going."

Ceri-Anne has been sponsored on her charity fundraising page by family and friends and members of St Katharine's Church where she is known as Ceri-Anne Ashby and is a reader.

On Wednesday, August 13, Ceri-Anne's cousin's daughter, Kristina, will use the clippers to cut off the 56-year-old's hair with some of it being donated to the Little Princess charity.

Watching the transformation will be Ceri-Anne's son Haydon, 20, and her sister Juli Wilmin, with daughter Caitlyn, 23, watching the livestream from her university halls in Newcastle.

Ceri-Anne added: "I've never really had long hair until recently and I'd quite liked having it long. I hope to raise £500 and if I raise more that would brilliant.

"It’s a small act to raise money for KGH’s new cancer resource centre and Macmillan, to help bring much needed support to people during their cancer journey.

"I'd like to thank all my team at KGH, at the church and my family for all their support and encouragement."

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