A former Basildon hospital patient has raised nearly £8,000 for the unit that cared for her.

Sarah Day was treated for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a rare cancer that develops in a network of vessels and glands throughout the body.

After completing her treatment in January 2017, Sarah began fundraising to collect money for the haematology day unit that helped her throughout her illness.

The 32-year-old raised a total of £7,987 by hosting events. Those included a coffee morning, a quiz night, and a charity ball.

Two of Sarah’s friends also raised some of that money by running the Brentwood half marathon.

And top of both of those efforts, one of the unit nurses, Shane Brennan, took part in a sponsored back wax in July and raised a further £2,412.

Sarah, from Brentwood, said: “I had amazing care while I was here and walking back onto the unit today and seeing the faces of the staff who cared for me has been really emotional.

“I would just like to say a huge thank you to every single person who has supported me, donated money, auction prizes and their time.

“People have been so generous and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

If you would like to fundraise for a ward or department at Basildon or Orsett, visit basildonandthurrock.nhs.uk/fundraising.