Atherton community raises more than £8,000 for mum of four

Ashley Diane Humphreys, 33, was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer last March and after undergoing various treatments that didn’t work, she is now on IV chemo.

Hundreds of people came together to attend a charity fundraiser at The Punchbowl Pub in Atherton.

Family and friends of Ashley decided to get together to raise funds so the young mum can make some special memories with her family.

Local businesses donated raffle prizes and Ashley’s best friend, Brisha Southern, also braved the shave on the day to raise additional funds. 

Ashley said she was left feeling overwhelmed and could not believe how many people came out to support her. 

Speaking about her journey and how she felt to see so many people supporting her, Ashley said: “I got diagnosed on March 15, 2023, and they told me it was an incurable breast cancer.

“I started off on a treatment for three months which didn’t work, I went onto something else for another three months and that didn’t work either and the cancer was just getting worse.

“And now I am on IV chemo, and we have just had some good news last week that it is working, obviously it is incurable, but they are just trying to keep it at bay for as long as possible.

“It was overwhelming really to see so many people come together to support me, really overwhelming.

“I never thought or imagined that anything like that would happen for me but to see all these people there for me was just amazing.

“There were hundreds of people who attended the charity day.

“I was amazed when I found out more than £8,000 was raised, it is going to do a lot of things for me so I can make memories with my children.

Ashley with her partner and four children (Image: Ashley Humphreys)“With the money we are going to go on holiday, try and sort out the garden so it is nice for the children and just whatever we can.

“It is incredible to see the amount of support I have received  - I’m lost for words.

“Especially from my best friend who braved the shave, I am so grateful, she has stood by me every step of the way and she has shaved her head for me.

“It is just lovely to know I have so much support from the community for me and my family.

“I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone in the Atherton community, I’m speechless.”

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Tania Freeborn-Helme, 52, landlady of The Punchbowl Pub where the event took place, said she has known Ashley all of her life and the support given to Ashley by the community has been amazing.

She said: “We were all together one day and Brisha, Ashley’s best friend, said she wanted to brave the shave for Ashley whilst she was going through chemo and so we all decided to host a fundraiser to raise money for Ashley.

Ashley and her mum Sharon (Image: Ashley Humphreys)“On the charity day, all of the Atherton community came together, and they donated loads of prizes, we also had some really good prizes that were auctioned off including football cards and we also had Brisha brave the shave here on the day too.

“The response from the community was amazing, Ashley is a local girl, I’ve known her all her life, her family drink in the pub and they have just been amazing with her.

“The turnout on the day of the event was amazing for her, Ashley was overwhelmed with all of the love and support.

“She has got so much love and support from all of her friends and all of her family; it has just been amazing.”

If people would like to donate to the fundraiser, they can do here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/pwjsx-ashleys-journey.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on X @chloewjourno.