Villagers in Llanbradach have shown community spirit is thriving after they rallied around and raised £8,000 for a dad battling an aggressive form of cancer.
Matthew Jenkins, 35, of Park View, Llanbradach, discovered he had non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in July last year after he noticed he was not eating as much as he normally would.
Increasingly feeling tired, the devoted dad to 20-month-old Ruby put it down to a change in shifts at Pontygwindy Industrial Estate’s Castle Dairies.
It was not until he visited his doctor after a family holiday with wife Amanda and Ruby did the real reason for his weight loss and tiredness begin to come to light.
Matthew, who lost two stone in five weeks, said: “Went to the GP, she had a feel about and said there could be something in my stomach as it was a bit swollen at the front and she put me for a blood test.”
An early hours phone call the following day was the beginning of a gruelling battle which Matthew is still fighting. He has undergone eight slow rounds of chemotherapy because of complications and is about to embark on another intensive course.
The latest round has a 75% chance of getting rid of the tumour, which originally measured 23cm, but will come at a cost. Once the treatment is over, Matthew will have to begin stem cell therapy to repair the damage done to his body by the chemotherapy.
Despite what is clearly an ordeal, Matthew doesn’t see himself as brave but has praised the amount of support he’s had from family, friends and the wider community.
He joked: “I have to get better now as I owe everyone a pint.”
The community of Llanbradach has raised an astonishing £8,000 through a host of charity events started by family friend Clair Hopkins.
A poker night pulled in £300 and a coffee morning raised £270.A two-hour fitness zumbathon raised £1,300 and more recently a fancy dress football match got £1,500. A raffle, with prizes donated by local business raised £1,800.
Mrs Hopkins was at the Heath Hospital in Cardiff when she bumped into Matthew’s sister Claire.
She said: “We knew that he had cancer, but we didn’t know the extent of it until we saw how much Matthew had changed. We couldn’t sleep as we wanted to do something. At first, we thought about a teddy bear for the baby and a pair of pyjamas for him, but it just grew from there.”
Despite the efforts the community went in raising the money, it was kept from Matthew by friends and family because of his “stubborn” nature.
Matthew added: “I’ve been astounded by the number of people who have helped.”
Matthew, his wife Amanda, his father Jeff, mother Pauline and the rest of the family said they wanted to say thanks to everybody for the the support they have received over the last few weeks.