If you’ve been sent the link to this page there’s a good chance you already know our story; if not, here’s a brief insight into why we’re raising money for Breast Cancer Care UK.

Back in the autumn of 2007 we were hit with the news that our Mam, Angela Bassett, was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Naturally, as when anyone hears the dreaded news of a cancer diagnosis, it came as a massive shock to the four of us and left us confused as to what to expect from the coming weeks and months.

Over the next year or so Mam went through 3 operations, weeks of chemotherapy and months of radiotherapy, not to mention a vast array of wigs and bandanas.  After a rough 18 months we were delighted to hear that the treatment had been successful and that Mam would be able to get on with her life as normal. 

Things did start to get back to normal and all seemed well for a little while.  The four of us were able to go on a summer holiday to Gran-Canaria with family and close friends and Mam was able to attend the wedding of one of her cousins in the September, the first family wedding in 18 years.  We got to Christmas in 2009 not really thinking about Mams’ illness anymore.  She had been ill in spells due to a weakened immune system because of the treatment, but after fighting cancer, a slight sickness and a chesty cough seemed like normal business, as colds quite often are. 

The start of 2010 is where things started to go down-hill and Mam began getting progressively worse, constantly making trips to and from the doctors and different hospital for tests for this, and tests for that.  Soon we were in March and Mam was no longer at work due to being so ill, but it still wasn’t apparent actually how ill she was; it was never apparent how ill she was until it was too late in-fact.

Saturday 27 March came round and Mam fell really ill.  She was taken into hospital via ambulance: lights, sirens the lot, something she really didn’t like as she would hate the thought of other people fussing over her – just the type of person she was.  Mam was on the High Dependency unit at Furness General due to worrying respiratory difficulties and was closely monitored by a fantastic team of doctors and nurses over the following days. 

It was Monday 29 March 2010 when Mam passed away.  We thought the news of mams diagnosis back in 2007 was a shock; this was something else!  Nobody knew that Mams cancer had come back, and that it had spread to other areas of her body.  It was only hours before Mam died that the staff at FGH received test results telling them that Mams cancer had come back and had spread.  It was at that point that enquiries were made about getting started on chemotherapy again to give mam the best chance of surviving and it was also at that point it was decided that chemotherapy wouldn’t do the job.  It was too late.  Mam died with her husband Steve and her sister Marie by her side.

Our story isn’t a nice one, and it’s one we wish we didn’t have to tell, but unfortunately here you are reading it.  The time between Mams diagnosis and the day she died wasn’t the best for us to deal with, so we can’t even begin to imagine how that must have been for Mam. 

Throughout all the upset, anger and frustration, there are only two positives we can take from mams ordeal with cancer.  The first of those is that she’s no longer in pain and is no longer having to fight this monster that is cancer.  The second is that throughout her illness and even the weeks following her death, there was always support on offer from organisations such as Breast Cancer Care UK.  It’s those people that make dealing with cancer that little bit easier and it’s those people that give you a greater understanding of what’s going on, right from diagnosis to remission, or unfortunately in this case, passing away. 

We’re running the Great North Run 2014 in memory of ANGELA BASSETT.  We’re running the Great North Run 2014 to raise as much money as we can in order to help keep this charity running and help to keep Breast Cancer Care improving and expanding to help as many cancer sufferers, and their families, as possible.  Any amount of money that you can donate to this fantastic cause will be greatly appreciated, no matter how little or large, and we thank you for your donation in advance. 

Wish Us Luck,

Simon and Adele Bassett

OBO Stephen Bassett, Simon Bassett, Adele Bassett and Helen Bosanko. 

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