A HELENSBURGH woman held a fundraiser to give back to the Macmillan nurses who helped her.

Rhona McAuley, a 37-year-old teacher, held a whisky tasting in The Pillar Hall, Victoria Halls, on March 18, raising £1640.

Rhona, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 31, when her little boy was just one and from the point of diagnosis on, her Macmillan nurse Alison was by her side offering help and support.

Rhona said: “She helped to break things down and took the time to explain everything in a way that I understood, it gave me a chance to process everything.

“She visits twice a month to provide support, she helps with financial support and putting us in contact with the correct people.”

In 2014 Rhona broke both her hips after a fall, at this point they realised that the cancer had spread. Once again Macmillan nurses were there to offer help in any way they could.

Rhona added: “The nurses are just fantastic. I wanted to thank them by doing some fundraising.”

Rhona set up the whisky tasting fundraiser with the help of her best friend Kate, who she has known since nursery and Kate’s husband Mark Watt, who hosted the evening, their first whisky tasting as a couple.

Tickets for the night were £20 and around 60 people attended.

The night also included a raffle and the little amounts of whisky which were left at the end were auctioned off to gather a little extra money for the charity.

Six different whiskies from all over were used for the event were donated by various distilleries including Springbank and Glenfarclas.

Rhona arranged for Kate, Mark and Macmillan nurse Alison to get together so that she could present a cheque to Alison, which will be put towards providing help and services to the people of Helensburgh and the surrounding areas who need it.

Rhona said: “I would like to thank all those who came along on the night to support us, the event was a lot of fun, there were lots of laughs and it was good to see that those who came along preferred whisky to coffee.

“I’d absolutely do it again; I’m thinking of either hosting another in Helensburgh or in Campbeltown, it was a great way to raise money for a good cause.”

Since the event Rhona has received a letter of thanks from the nurses which states what the money will be used for.

It states: “The fund is accessed by Macmillan nurses for many reasons, such as, buying or hiring equipment which we are finding difficult to provide for people at home or perhaps a short break away in Britain for a family who are living with cancer and for many other worthwhile reasons.

“We really appreciate receiving donations from local people as it helps us improve the quality of people’s lives who are residents in the area.”

The letter goes on to thank Rhona and all of the people who helped to run the whisky tasting evening which “could only be successful and sounded like it was a very enjoyable evening”.