Wigan school boy brings Christmas cheer to cancer patients

A schoolboy from Wigan has performed another amazing good deed and collected over 1,000 selection boxes to give to cancer patients in Wigan borough.
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Charlie Heslin, 11, from Ashton-in-Makerfield, came home from Cansfield High School one day in October and told his mum Tracey that he wanted to do more for people living with a cancer diagnosis after his last one proved so successful.

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After discovering that his mum has breast cancer, Charlie decided to bring some happiness to other patients and made an Easter egg collection earlier this year. He was aiming to collect around 500 selection boxes but ended up with more than double that after he received some help from his dad’s workplace, Vinci Construction UK, which is working on The Christie’s development in Manchester.

Left to right: Charlie's dad, Ben Heslin, Vinci Construction staff members and Charlie Heslin, 11.Left to right: Charlie's dad, Ben Heslin, Vinci Construction staff members and Charlie Heslin, 11.
Left to right: Charlie's dad, Ben Heslin, Vinci Construction staff members and Charlie Heslin, 11.

Now he has repeated the feat for Christmas.

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Tracey noticed her breast looked sunken-in on one side while on holiday with her friend, Kayleigh Sherratt in October 2020. She had visited the doctors eight months prior with some concerns about her breast but was told it was nothing to worry about. Her friend convinced her to go back to her doctor where she was, unfortuantely, diagnosed with incurable stage four, secondary breast cancer, and she is now receiving treatment.

Tracey said: “Charlie would like to thank everyone who helped make his Christmas mission a success. And I just want him to know how proud all of his family are of him.”

The selection boxes are now being distributed between patients at the Lilac Centre, The Christie, Maggie’s Centres, local hospices, and to children with life-limiting conditions, all in time for Christmas.

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