Thanks for visiting my JustGiving page. This November I’m doing The IN Thing™ and treating the girls to a great night in to raise money for Cancer Research.

As you all know I lost my incredible mum to Cancer in January.  Her cancer started as bowel cancer and spread to her liver and then finally her lungs.  Being diagnosed with cancer is a complete rollercoaster, emotionally and physically.  You are constantly up and down -  given hope a treatment will work and then it fails and suddenly it's all taken from you, then there's another option to try or you're given the all clear, and there is hope again, and then it's back somewhere else, so they try again.  It is both emotionally & physically draining for that person and their loved ones.  Throughout all of these highs and lows my mum was dignified, she kept smiling, didn't once moan & was a pillar of strength for us all.  Yes there were tears but not a day went by that she wasn't smiling or laughing.

My mum was treated at The Christie Cancer Hospital in Manchester & the doctors were incredible, they gave her hope, which with cancer is the one thing, above all that you all need.  Her friends & our family were amazing, taking it in turns to take her for treatment - laughing their heads off in the waiting room after treatment when mum would have a nose bleed & her friend telling her to put tampons up her nose to stop it! This just shows mum's incredible attitude to the whole thing!

When mum passed I felt like my whole world was falling apart, she was the glue & I thought without her nothing would be the same.  I had a strange sense of feeling lonely and I was angry that the whole world was carrying on when mine had fallen apart.  Grief really is a funny thing, it hits you at the most unexpected moment & lasts a lifetime.  Cancer isn't just an illness, it changes lives during the illness & afterwards. There is not a day that goes by that I dont miss mum, I have a constant ache & so many things remind me of her or I wish that I could tell her.  I miss her smile, her warmth, her knowledge. But I really am one of the lucky ones, and I truly appreciate that. I have the most amazing, supportive family, some truly great friends & support group that anybody could wish for, and my Dad is a complete rock for us all.  This past year has been tremendously difficult and I have had many moments when I've found it all too much but my mum instilled such love, happiness and support in us all that it allows us to go on with our lives and be thankful that we had her, knowing she loved us, and us her.  When I think of mum I don't think of her and cancer, but as my mum, my mentor, my confidante and my best friend.

I am hoping that by hosting this evening I can do one small thing towards raising funds to fight cancer so that more people don't have to go through the few years that we, and so many others I know and around the world, have had.  Whether the money goes towards finding a cure, more nurses, councilling or support, I hope we can help make a small difference. 

So to help keep mum's memory and smile alive and do our part to help towards the fight let's have a girl's night 'mum style' - champagne, Motown, good food & great company!!

Please donate as much as you can towards a 'night in' rather than your normal 'night out' (we will also have some fundraising games on the evening so bring small change!!)

Looking forward to it!

xx