Tragic mum’s loved ones raise £2,000 for hospice

Cancer patient died just as she was about to have transplants

Nearly £2,000 has been raised for the Pilgrims Hospice after it helped care for a popular mum and daughter who died from a rare cancer.

Samantha Hollands, 37, who was originally from Lydd but lived in Kingsnorth, suffered from pseudomyxoma, a cancer that starts in the appendix.

This specific cancer is said to affect one in a million people, and only two hospitals in this country can treat it.

Mrs Hollands, a mother-of-one, was due to go into the The Pilgrims Hospice in Hythe Road, Ashford, to prepare for a stomach and bowel transplant on Friday, February 10, the day she died.

Her mother, Susan Lee, said that a consultant from Pilgrims had spent a lot of time helping her daughter with pain relief in the last few weeks of her life and even visited her at her home.

She said: “They were trying to get her fit for this transplant. One of the consultants there was Samantha Hollands on her wedding day in September 2014 brilliant, he came to her house a few times.

“They are so good there and she was on the verge of going in.” Mrs Hollands’ funeral, took place at All Saints’ Church in Lydd on Tuesday, February 28, when hundreds of mourners paid their respects.

A total of £1,700 was raised from collections for the hospice on the day.

The Pilgrims Hospice in Hythe Road, Ashford, relies on donations to continue its work in caring for terminally ill patients and offering support to families and friends.

For more information, visit www.pilgrimshospices.org

‘The consultant was brilliant. He came to her house a few times’