A cancer survivor who has dedicated two decades to supporting research at Dundee University has been presented with a unique award to celebrate her achievement.
Monifieth woman Fiona Edwards started selling her homemade tablet in 2003, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Since then, her popular sweet treats have raised an incredible £100,000 to fund research into the disease – but Fiona is now hanging up her apron after reaching her long-term goal.
The keen runner has received a few medals in her time, but none of those that hung round her neck were made from the same sugary delicacy that she has
been making.
The medal, commissioned by the university to thank Fiona for her tireless effort, was designed by graduate Finlay Grant, who encased tablet in resin to enable it to be preserved.
It will rest in a wooden stand that Finlay also made, and was presented to Fiona at a ceremony at Ninewells Hospital on Wednesday.
Since starting out in making the tablet, Fiona estimates that she has made an incredible 280,000 bars.
She said: “I thought that either 20 years or £100,000 would be a good place to stop so it feels amazing to have reached both milestones at the same time and to be able to stand down knowing I’ve been able to help such an important cause.
“I am not missing it, to be honest. I used to set my alarm for stupid o’clock and go to the kitchen and make two batches of tablet first thing, every single day unless I was on holiday.
“That was before I went to work or to the gym or whatever else I had on that day. Now I get up and make myself a cup of tea then go back to bed for an hour.
“I have so many people to thank, not least my family who have put up with the house smelling like tablet every day for the past 20 years and with me constantly working away in the kitchen.
“I have had support from thousands of people over the years, from those who bought tablet to those who put some coins in the tin even if they weren’t buying.
“Lots of people have donated large sums directly as well, particularly in the past year, and I am so grateful to everyone.”
When this whole thing escalated I knew I had to be totally committed to raise the kind of sums I wanted to.”
Fiona Edwards
As a result of Covid-19, Fiona’s fundraising was derailed and the resulting drift towards a cashless society led her to fear that she would not hit her target before the end of the 20-year limit she had put on her baking career.
To get over the final hurdle, she set up a JustGiving page where her loyal customers, breast cancer charity supporters and members of the public could donate.
The initiative brought in a further £1,968, meaning Fiona has raised £101,700 since first starting out on her journey.
Tablet fundraising by Fiona Edwards ‘absolutely remarkable’
She added: “It is definitely the right time to bin my wooden spoon when you look at how much ingredients have shot up in price over the past year.
“I had a look around the supermarket the other day and a bar that I would have made for 11p would now cost more than 20p. It would have been heartbreaking to see the money I wanted to go to charity be swallowed up by inflation.
“I also never took any money for energy costs, so thank goodness I am not making batch after batch right now.
“Similarly, the changes that Covid brought have hit me hard as well. I always sold a lot of tablet at running events and on the sidelines at youth football matches but no one carries cash any more so it was getting harder and harder.
“When this whole thing escalated I knew I had to be totally committed to raise the kind of sums I wanted to.
“I enjoy the pressure being off now.”
Over the years, Fiona’s dedication and hard work has helped fund research and purchase specialist equipment at the university’s School of Medicine.
The £9,110 Fiona raised in 2022 will allow the team there to maintain and develop its extensive breast cancer research database.
Professor Rory McCrimmon, dean of the School of Medicine, said: “What Fiona has done over the past 20 years is absolutely remarkable.
“Her commitment to fundraising has supported studies that have increased our knowledge of this disease and that will hopefully inform further discoveries in future.”
Fiona will keep her JustGiving page open until February 28.
Conversation