Forty years of caring – Keith Cancer Link
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Keith Cancer Link is celebrating 40 years of supporting local people and their families through difficult times.
Adeline Reid, a former district nurse and midwife, set up the group in 1983, shortly after the death of one of her own relatives.
She recalls: "A member of my family went through a very difficult cancer journey. There was trouble getting any sort of support.
"So, afterwards, I decided that this town needed something to be done so that other people didn't have to go through the same experience. "
The charity has helped hundreds of people over the course of the past four decades.
Its social group meets on the last Thursday of each month at the British Legion.
Adeline said: "The meetings are never boring – and they're certainly not all doom and gloom.
"In fact, we have such a laugh sometimes that people wish they could go on for far longer. How many meetings can you say that about?
"Our members decide at the start what they want to talk about, and away we go.
"Each and every time you always learn something, whether it's a fact of some sort, or it's a pearl of wisdom that someone said."
In the same way taht Keith Cancer Link arranges transport to take patients to medical appointments in Keith, Elgin, Aberdeen and Inverness, the charity can also taxi folk to and from its meetings at the British Legion.
Adeline is a former midwife and Queen's nurse who, in 2005, discovered she had cancer herself.
She made a full recovery, however that chapter provided her with a more rounded view of the charity's work.
Adeline said: "You suddenly get to see things from both sides.
"For instance, it's difficult to explain to someone who's never had it just how tired radiotherapy make you feel. It's as though all the blood has been drained from your body.
"It's totally and utterly exhausting. But then, you also learn that this feeling passes."
Another element of Keith Cancer Link is that it arranges non-medical treatments such as massage and reiki which some patients find very beneficial in helping them to relax.
The charity, which was given the Queen's award for volunteering in 2009, survives due to the help it gets from the community.
One recent example of this is the Bengal Spice restaurant on Mid Street which, following its refurbishment, held a night which raised £660.
Adeline, who was made an MBE by the Queen for her work with the group, said: "Just yesterday I got talking to a guy and he ended up handing over a £20 to the charity.
"We couldn't do what we do without the support we get from local people, so I want to pass on my thanks to everyone."
In turn, the charity has paid for numerous items at Keith Medical Centre, particularly this current year.
Adeline said: "We got left a legacy and, rather than having some jollification to celebrate our 40th anniversary, we decided to buy some medical equipment that would benefit the people of the town."
Learn more at keithcancerlinksupport.org.uk
