By Harborough Mail | Posted 25 October, 2014
She walks into a Harborough cafe on a crutch – and morphine – with a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.
She leaves about an hour later after getting the cafe staff to display a poster and collection box for her campaign, in aid of county hospice charity LOROS.
In between, Lizzy Strong talks with humour and realism about her terminal cancer, and her inspiring response to it.
The 36-year-old said: “I have always said I can’t change where I am going, but I can change how I get there.
“Laughter and silliness, really are the best medicine. And obviously the chemo helps!”
Former primary school teacher Lizzy, who lives in Wilbarston, got her terminal diagnosis in July, after an 18-month battle with cancer.
Her response was to defiantly see the funny side – and raise money at the same time.
Her “random acts of silliness” campaign has raised nearly £1,000 for charity so far.
She launched the campaign with a cream pie and comedy star Sarah Millican – who has been to Lizzy and partner Tash Hartley’s house for tea and has met their one-year-old son Flynn Hartley-Strong.
She kept the momentum going with support from a chicken hat and comedy legend Dawn French, who she met backstage at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.
Now she wants people to make their own silly videos, to read her blog and to donate to Loros via her justgiving website.
Amid this whirl of activity, how does she feel?
“I’m on permanent morphine; I’m always in pain somewhere. But on a pain scale of one to ten, I’m only about a four at the moment.”
And how did she hit on this campaign?
Lizzy said: “Whenever I felt really fed-up with the illness, I got Sarah out. I found a Sarah Millican DVD always got me smiling again.
“And I wanted to give something back to Loros, so I combined the two ideas – a silly campaign to raise money.
“It’s in my nature to use a sense of humour as a defence mechanism. I just try to look for the positives in everything, not just for myself, but for everyone around me.”
It’s quite an achievement for Lizzy, who was given six months to live a year ago, and planned her own funeral.
Having helped deliver her son, and seen him reach his first birthday, her aim is to be there when he gets to two.
“It’s a learning curve for everyone; living with cancer.
“But it’s not an instant death sentence, you can still have fun.
“You have to fight or die. So what are you going to do?”
