On the 27th of June my life changed forever. My mum lost her battle to lung cancer at the age of 56 in St Luke's hospice after a short 10 month battle.

St lukes became a very important part of my mums life and mine.

I was there they day my mum found out that she had terminal lung cancer and would only live a short few month with treatment, they heart break of this reality was unbearable for us all. My mums health went down hill all of a sudden and I can honestly say that none of us were prepared for it, no matter how much the hospitals told us that this would happened, we as a family were not ready to accept it.

St luke's were involved nearly from the start, my mum used to go for days at the for various types of therapeutic sessions from arts and crafts to make overs, all things that made my mum feel more empowered and stopped her for a short time thinking about her illness. My mum refused to let lung cancer beat he.

As time went on my mums pain got worse and her the cancer started taking over her body, as her daughter this was the hardest time of my life, seeing my mum in pain and losing her dignity. My mum chose to go into St Lukes and spend her last month / weeks there. The staff showed my sister and myself that they did not just provide care they genuinely did care for my mum as if she was one of their own . All the staff in st Lukes showed us compassion, it didn't matter where you was every member of staff made the time to talk to use, from the domestic staff all the way up to the consultants.

The staff embrace our family, at times there would over twenty of us in my mums room and they staff never once restricted the numbers of visitors. My mum became well known for filling her room with bits out of the hospice shop.

I will always be grateful for st Lukes and their different approach of my mums end of life care. My mums dog , who was her whole world was allowed to stay during her last months / weeks of her life. this made a vast difference to her quality of life as she felt as if it was her home. As a family we were able to come and go as we pleased and in that last few hours of my mums life the staff and the nurses gave my mum, my sister, my step dad and my self the most amazing support and care. even after my mum passing the staff went out their way to ensure my sister and I were surrounded by support and I would even say love.

Dr Finngas (My mums consultant ) went above and beyond the call of duty for my mum and my family to ensure she had her dying wishes and died in dignity, I can not express or put into words how much this man helped my mum stay strong through this horrible time and how grateful as a family we are to him. he listened to my mum and spent time with her .

My mum struck a very unlikely friend up during her time at st Lukes with Mike the vicar (as he is known in our family) . He showed my mum some kind light during her darkest moments and provided hope when she felt there was none left. This man was another who went above and beyond for my mother and my family, even putting off visiting his own family by a few extra minutes which turned into hours at time, he would turn up at time when we were sat my mums bed side wondering if this was going to be the time she didn't pull through and brought us all comfort. after my mums passing, Mike still stayed in touch and travelled to do my mums last service.

I would never want anyone to go through what our family did but I know there is no cure for cancer either. having a place like st Lukes is important as they provide more than just care.

I want to raise money so other families can benefit from St Lukes

Thank you