Fee’s Story

In 2014,  Fee Sharples, a retired nurse, was diagnosed with Stage 4 symptomless breast cancer which spread to her lymph nodes and to her bones and the spread continues. Her medical understanding and her relentless determination have seen her survive for seven years so far. With huge support from her family, friends and an amazing oncology team she has learnt to live with cancer, and she is still here! The latest of these years is thanks to a Cancer Research UK (CRUK) funded trial she underwent at Addenbrookes Hospital. Understandably, CRUK is now close to her heart.

She and her husband John (a retired army officer) together with a huge support team of her friends ran two “Norfolk Dog Days” in 2009 and 2010 which raised £217,000 in aid of ‘Help for Heroes’. Separately, £53,000 was raised for Veterans Norfolk and (so far) £11,000 for CRUK. Fee has devoted huge energy to fundraising for those causes which mean a lot to her and give her so much enjoyment.

In the often wakeful small hours, she had a lightbulb moment which gave her the inspiration for a novel fundraiser as a means to give something back to Cancer Research UK: an online national photographic dog competition to be called “Britain’s Next Top Dog!”

Lockdown has been so hard for us all, but particularly for Cancer Research UK who have lost so much vital funding for its research projects which will benefit one in two of us in the future. This fundraiser should bring some light-hearted fun to the nation of dog lovers. Please send in all those pooch photos, vote for your TOP DOG from the category winners and support us by sending this viral.