Angela Unsworth MBE, Domestic Bursar of University College, is one of the organisers of the inaugural Oxford Breast Buddy Group’s (OBBG) fashion show and gala dinner fundraiser taking place at the University Examination Schools on 4 October 2024, at the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The OBBG charity, which is run by people with experience of breast cancer, provides advice, support and a safe forum for discussion for breast cancer patients – at any point in their treatment.

Professor PG Roy, senior Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University, and Surgical Tutor at Pembroke College, is the interim Chair of OBBG. Several members of the University and Univ – including Angela Unsworth – are part of the large community of former breast cancer patients to have been treated by PG Roy.

The event on 4 October, which includes a fashion show, dinner, entertainment and auction, aims to raise awareness of breast cancer, the OBBG charity, celebrate survivorship and raise much needed funds for this small but growing not for profit organisation.

Angela Unsworth said: “Being told you have any kind of cancer is isolating. Regardless of the fact that one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, when you hear it said about you, the effect on even the most resilient people is crushing.

“Women in particular have a range of complex reactions, wrapped up in their own body image, in being a mother and often in being the anchor in their family. Anything which threatens that, and breast cancer often does at a relatively young age, is extremely hard to deal with.

“It is hard to speak with those closest to you. It is hard to completely and honestly articulate what you are thinking and what you are fearing, because your fear is their fear. Ultimately your fear of total loss, is their fear of total loss. At the beginning that feeling is there, but incredibly difficult to talk about.

“That is why support groups of people with lived experience, to whom you can say anything at any time is so critical, because you can say nothing which they have not already thought or said themselves. We celebrate the fact that we are still here, we celebrate that we have such fantastic people as PG Roy in our corner and we continue to celebrate the friendship and support of networks such as OBBG. We hope you can join us on what promises to be a wonderful evening.”

Tickets to the event are available via Eventbrite.

Further details about the event can be found on the OBBG website.

If you would like to make a donation to OBBG, please visit their JustGiving page.

For more information about OBBG, email: obbg@oxfordbreastbuddygroup.co.uk

In partnership with the UK’s leading specialist cancer care provider, GenesisCare.

PG Roy and OBBG were highlighted in QUAD, the University of Oxford’s digital alumni magazine recently.

Published: 23 August 2024

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