Champagne corks were popping at Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, last night to mark the amazing end of a Macmillan Cancer Relief campaign. Health Editor Barry Nelson reports.

WHEN Macmillan Cancer Relief considered the statistics for County Durham three years ago they didn't make sense. Cancer rates were ten per cent higher than the English average, yet the level of support for cancer sufferers and their families was the worst in the country.

According to research by Macmillan, every county in England - apart from County Durham - had its own Macmillan palliative care consultant, a medical specialist with a particular skill in managing terminally-ill cancer patients.

The county also had relatively few specialist Macmillan nurses, who provide care and support for patients and their families, and carers in the community.

Macmillan, an organisation founded in the early part of the last century, has become one of the largest support services for cancer patients in the world and a lifeline for thousands of Britons every year.

The charity provides care, support and information to people with cancer and their families, through Macmillan nurses and doctors, dedicated cancer units and information centres, and via a special helpline.

Uniquely, Macmillan can also provide hardship grants to people who are in financial difficulties because of their illness.

The fact that Macmillan is so under represented in County Durham, despite the high demand for the charity's services, was the reason why in October 2001, an audacious plan was unveiled to the people of County Durham.

At a ceremony at Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, the historic seat of the Bishop of Durham, some of County Durham's leading citizens were asked to pledge their support to closing the gap with the rest of the country.

They were told that if they raised the impossible-sounding sum of £600,000 - to cover the cost of the county's first dedicated palliative care consultant for three years - the NHS would agree to pick up the bill in future.

If they hit the target, it would also increase the number of specially trained Macmillan nurses serving the Durham community.

While Macmillan put on a brave face at the launch, everyone associated with the campaign knew that County Durham was going to be a tough nut to crack.

At the time Caroline Peacock, the Hamsterley-based co-manager of the appeal, said: "Durham is not a particularly wealthy county, there are not many individuals who are going to write you a cheque for £10,000. I think the fund-raising will be done by a mass of community events."

Prophetically, Caroline added: "The key is to get as many ordinary people motivated as possible, nobody is going to wave a magic wand and produce the money."

Before launching the campaign, Macmillan approached The Northern Echo and asked for this newspaper's help.

At the time, appeal chairman Ian Bonas said: "We came to The Northern Echo because it is the most important newspaper for this part of the North-East and it has a great track record for making a difference."

After listening to the background to the appeal, Peter Barron, editor of The Northern Echo, was quick to back the fund-raising drive. "Sadly, cancer affects us all - either directly or indirectly. That's why we felt that it was important for The Northern Echo, as the campaigning paper for the region, to support this important appeal," he said.

Last night, at another gathering of Macmillan supporters at Auckland Castle, the thrilling news was announced that the appeal has not only hit the £600,000 target but gone on to rack up a total of £750,000.

The response from the people of County Durham has exceeded Macmillan's wildest hopes.

While some individuals have made large donations, Caroline Peacock's prediction that the most money would come in from ordinary people has been proved to be a shrewd judgement.

"We have had a wonderful response from people from all walks of life but it is often in areas which do not have a lot of money that we have found the most generous response," says Caroline.

The willingness of local people to put their hands in their pockets for Macmillan meant that the charity decided to start appointing extra nurses before the three years had elapsed.

Hitting the target became a formality, so Macmillan also went ahead with plans to appoint not one consultant, but two.

Now County Durham has two Macmillan sponsored palliative care consultants, Jenny Skinner, at the Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland, and Colette Hawkins, at the University Hospital of North Durham, on the old Dryburn site at Durham.

The cash has also been used to set up three new information points at hospitals in Shotley Bridge, Durham and Peterlee, where specially trained volunteers can answer questions about cancer and give information about Macmillan services.

The charity has also been able to distribute between £40,000 and £50,000 per annum in hardship payments to County Durham families since the appeal started.

One of the Macmillan supporters at last night's event has a particular reason to celebrate. Michelle Thompson was invited to Auckland Castle as a representative of thousands of people who helped Macmillan hit its target.

The mother-of-two from Darlington signed up to take part in the charity's Peru Inca Trail Hiking Challenge to raise money for the Durham appeal.

She trekked through the cloud-shrouded Andes mountains along with 60 other volunteers to explore the fabled lost city of the Incas, Macchu Picchu.

This was an achievement in itself but doubly so for Michelle, who overcame her own brush with cancer to take part in the strenuous trek.

Michelle had surgery last year to remove her thryroid gland after a cancer scare. Initially, she was petrified, especially as she had watched her younger sister, Jeannette Nicholson, from Appleton Wiske, between Darlington and Northallerton, succumb to bone cancer in 1995.

Michelle remembers the way a Macmillan nurse helped to calm her fears shortly after she was diagnosed. "A Macmillan nurse came to see me and made me feel so much more at ease. She gave me a card with her phone number and invited me for a coffee. She was really great."

When she heard about the Durham appeal, Michelle jumped at the chance to fulfil her dream of seeing the fabled Inca capital. Last night, Macmillan officials got the chance to congratulate her and a host of other fund-raisers for their efforts. Michelle raised £3,845 for the appeal.

Another fund-raiser invited to last night's event was David Knight, from Newton Aycliffe, who raised £6,000 from the same Andes trek.

It didn't take long for the Durham appeal to hit its first target of £10,000. Within 24 hours of the launch, the first rung of the ladder was reached, thanks to a £5,000 donation from the Rank Foundation matched by £5,000 from Macmillan supporters across the county.

Charity concerts by Richmond Operatic Society in Bishop Auckland, and the Durham Police Band in Barnard Castle also boosted the coffers during the first weeks of the appeal.

But as the Macmillan fund-raising machine got into its stride - aided by The Northern Echo, which mentioned the appeal 227 times during the campaign - the cash really started pouring in.

Early highlights included the £3,000 raised by an evening of music and readings in Durham Cathedral, a collection of £2,700 from customers at Morrisons supermarket at Bishop Auckland, and the charity ball organised by Michelle Anderson from Lanchester, County Durham, which raised another £2,241.

In February this year, Sir Tom Cowie donated £50,000, which took the total very close to the official target.

Since May, the cash has continued to pour into Macmillan coffers, helped by a bumper cheque for £2,000 on behalf of Easington Council's outgoing chairman, Bill Gustard.

The Aycliffe 10k road race was another highlight, while appeal chairman Ian Bonas chipped in by opening up his gardens to the public.

Another big push came from a celebrity golf event at Brancepeth Castle Golf Club, near Durham, spearheaded by Ian Botham.

In the end though, it was the ordinary man and woman in the street who made the difference.

"People just kept on giving, it was amazing," says Caroline, who will never forget the unknown person who left an antique silver tea service on the doorstep of the appeal's office.