Hello, I am Leanne. A mother to a 3 year old, living in Warwickshire. In 2016 I saw an advertisement for a position at Neuroendocrine Cancer UK (back then it was NET Patient Foundation). At that time I worked for anther charity based in the same building as NCUK. When I saw the advert I felt compelled to apply. After speaking to Catherine (CEO) around the building about how the charity was set up and their ethos, I could sense her passion for the organisation and it made it a very appealing place to work.
I was terrified about my interview, and not for the normal reasons. I was terrified because I had never heard about Neuroendocrine Cancer. I remember asking my mum how to even pronounce it!
Luckily for me the interview wasn’t based on my medical knowledge and I was asked to join the team.
4 years later and I can now say I have that same passion that shone through Catherine when I first met her. Working for NCUK is not only a job for me, but I have become an advocate for our community.
The thing I’m most proud of whilst working at NCUK is organising the first NET Retreat. It was a weekend long event, where we held mindfulness and food and nutrition sessions, counselling sessions, a Q&A with the experts and ended the event with a beautiful dinner at the Penny Brohn centre in Bristol. The event was a huge success.
I wanted to take part in the Faces of Neuroendocrine Cancer campaign as when I became a new mum I felt so alone. Millions of women become mums everyday, yet I still felt so alone with what I was going through. Luckily I had people to talk to. When diagnosed with a rare disease I can only imagine how alone you feel. I want this campaign to spread far and wide so those diagnosed and living with can read the stories and know that they are not alone.