HEALTH ‘Nine months to live? We’ll see about that!’

WHEN Patricia Guy was given nine months to live following her second cancer diagnosis, her reaction was one of defiance.

But her strength and stamina came as no surprise to her family – as the great-grandmother is a former Olympic gymnast.

Patricia, 77, from Ely in Cardiff, competed in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, with her gymnastic events taking place in the historic Roman Colosseum.

And she still has more than a touch of the Olympic spirit. Six years after her cancer diagnosis, she is determined to be around for the birth of her 20th great-grandchild next May.

“When I was diagnosed, one doctor told me I had nine months to live,” said Patricia, who was previously treated for cancer in her 20s, only a year or so after she had competed in the British Olympic team.

“As I was leaving through the hospital doors, I turned around and said, ‘Nine months? We’ll see about that!’

“As Lord Seb Coe said in a letter he wrote to me, ‘Once an Olympian, always an Olympian’!”

Supported by the palliative care team at George Thomas Hospice Care, Patricia and her devoted husband Glyn, 79, are now calling on the public to support the charity in its work caring for families like theirs across Cardiff, as the charity changes its name to City Hospice.

On Friday the couple were guests of honour as Cardiff’s Lord Mayor officially opened City Hospice’s new shop on Cowbridge Road West, on the site of the former Blockbuster video store.

Patricia thanked City Hospice for the ongoing support given to her and her family during her illness.

“The care and support provided by City Hospice is marvellous,” she said.

“We’ve only got to mention something and they’re straight out to see us at home.

“Our nurse Kath has been wonderful and given us a lot of emotional as well as practical support.

“Sometimes she phones us to say she’s in the area and asks if she can just pop over to see how we are.”

Speaking before the unveiling, Mike Walsh, City Hospice’s chief executive, said: “Patricia is a real inspiration and the money raised by shoppers at our new Cowbridge Road West shop will help us continue to provide the highest possible care and support to her and her family – and to other families across Cardiff – for as long as they need it.”