Prior to the pandemic, Laura Baxter and Julia Madden organised a ‘Laugh at the Law’ fundraising event, bringing together solicitors, as they became stand-up comedians, to raise funds for charitable group known as ‘The Big C’.

‘The Big C’ was inspired by Laura who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2015.  Laura and has made a full recovery following a thyroidectomy and radiotherapy, and Julia’s mum is undergoing cancer treatment.  Laura and Julia decided they wanted to raise money for the Queen’s Centre, for Oncology and Haematology at Castle Hill Hospital, which cares for cancer patients from across the region. 

Laura said, “With the support of our firms, Begbies Traynor Group, Gosschalks and a helping hand from the Smile Foundation, we got our heads together and decided on a charity lunch which we branded as Laugh at the Law involving four solicitors becoming stand-up comedians for the afternoon.  The event raised an astonishing £8,000 which meant not only could we raise funds to buy the small items but also furnish the quiet room in Ward 31.”

The aim for our group ‘The Big C’ is to raise enough funds to provide items to make cancer patients cared for across our regions time in hospital and a home more comfortable.  We have helped in various ways, including paying for a family to go to Blackpool, the father had cancer and couple could not afford their annual trip.  We have helped provide iPads and Kindles, for hospitals, magazine subscriptions, and Airglove arm-warmers for patients undergoing chemotherapy, enabling more comfortable access to veins for cannulation.

Sister, Marie Hardcastle-Pearce from Ward 31 said, “We sincerely thank Laura and Julia for raising funds that have enabled us to create a beautiful Quiet Room on the ward.  It’s a calming place where patients and a family member can have time together, patients also use the room as a space for reflection and support from nursing teams away from the clinical ward environment, helping with their overall health and wellbeing.”

Laura and Julia worked alongside WISHH, the official charity of Hull Hospitals to identify the room where their fundraising could make a difference.  With input from the ward 31 staff and patients, a beautiful haven has been created.

About the Queen’s Centre

As well as serving the local community, the Queen’s Centre has a catchment population of 1.2 million people in a largely rural environment, with some travelling up to 80 miles to visit the site for appointments with clinicians.  The Queen’s Centre accepted its first patients in August 2008 and was officially opened by our late Queen, Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in March 2009.