‘I am living my best life while I can’
She doesn’t know how much time she has left, but Clare Sumpner is determined to make it count by helping people worse off than herself
Watching the news, I was transfixed by the images of overcrowded boats of refugees arriving on a Greek beach. These people had risked everything to start a new life. I wondered what they would do next and where they would get something to eat. They seemed to have so little compared with me, sitting in my comfortable living room, eating an orange.
In that moment I felt lucky, which was a feeling that had deserted me for some time. Five months earlier I had been told that my cancer had come back and that it had spread.
It was heartbreaking coming to terms with the fact I didn’t know how much time I had left with my two sons, Eddie and Charlie, who are nine and seven. Sitting and watching those news reports reminded me that there are people far worse off than me – families who had absolutely nothing. I wanted to help them.
The next day I made some calls to charities helping refugees, and was reassured they were given basics like pasta and rice. But one thing they rarely got was fresh fruit, because it goes off so quickly. I thought what people really need if they come off a boat is something fresh and life enhancing. And that’s when I thought of oranges and how good they were for me. I decided I was going to raise money to buy oranges and take them to refugee camps in Europe.
I managed to convince my husband, Pete, that not only would it be good for me, it would also show our two sons the importance of helping people in need. And I felt positive as I started collecting money through a Crowdfunding website to buy the first batch of fruit. I called it Around The World With 10,000 Oranges, as that was my target, and explained my story. I felt touched as the money started coming in.
I have been treated for cancer on and off for nearly a decade after a lump was found in my left breast when Eddie was one and I was 35. I have been through surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy – but in August 2015 I got the worst news possible. I had a lump in my brain and the cancer had also spread to my spine and lungs.
While they were able to operate to remove the tumour from my brain, I was told my cancer was now incurable. All they could do was give me chemotherapy to give me as much time as possible.
Getting that news was a complete game changer. It became important to stay positive and keep as busy as possible – which is why having a project to focus on was important to me.
I became more and more interested in the news. So many difficult things
[continued from previous page] have happened recently and it has all helped to put my predicament into perspective.
Our first trip to deliver oranges was to The Jungle camp in Calais last March. I told the boys we were helping people who haven’t got a house to live in, or any toys or food. They took it on board and got excited about where we were going. Handing out the oranges, I felt like we were doing something good and worthwhile. When we came back, I immediately started raising money for the next trip.
Since then, we have been to camps all over Europe. We go in my week off from chemo every month. Knowing that I have time off at the end of every cycle to deliver the oranges is what keeps me going. I have to collect the money – we have raised about £11,000 in total – and plan the trips, so that keeps me busy.
In one camp, children came running out from nowhere when I started handing out the oranges. They took the fruit and then they took the empty bag from my hand. That is when Eddie and Charlie understood just how important it was that we were doing this – because they saw children of their own age who were so desperate.
It has been good to create lots of memories of us doing something together as a family.
I find it helpful to keep myself busy in order to try to keep my mind off the subject I don’t want to think about, which is the possibility of leaving my children. I don’t know how long I have and I am not planning for my death yet. I’m living my best life while I can, and that seems to be the best way to prepare for what is ahead. For the moment at least, it is about living – and delivering oranges.