COUPLE WED AFTER BEING TOLD CANCER WOULD RETURN
THIS is the touching moment when a cancer patient married his partner after being told it is “inevitable” the disease would return without any possibility of further treatment.
Phillip Warr and Ashleigh Davies, from Cardiff, tied the knot in a small, intimate ceremony at a register office last week.
The pair initially planned to walk down the aisle next year – but after Phillip was told there’s a possibility of his cancer returning the couple said they didn’t want to wait.
Phillip, a keen footballer and former insurance sales officer at Admiral, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia – a form of leukaemia most commonly found in children – in 2015.
The 27-year-old had to go through a series of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments and had to have a Hickman line inserted, which left him with no immune system.
Ashleigh spent almost every day by her partner’s bedside, and later arranged to reduce her working hours to part-time to be able to care for him.
Eventually a successful bone marrow transplant from his sister meant that Phillip was on the road to recovery, and the couple – who met while working at Admiral in 2013 – could start looking forward to their future together.
But earlier this year their plans were halted once again after doctors told Phillip he had developed lymphoma and would need another series of chemotherapy.
Ashleigh said: “Back in June Phillip started suffering with chest pain, but we put this down to returning to football and possibly overdoing it a little bit.
“But a few weeks passed and the pain only got worse.
“A trip to A&E later confirmed that he had fluid on his lung, and after having an ultrasound, an X-ray and the fluid drained, the actual diagnosis was a form of lymphoma.
“It turns out the cancer had returned – but this time forming as a tumour in his chest.”
Phillip started chemotherapy almost immediately after his diagnosis and had to learn to walk again due to the nerve damage his body suffered during the treatment.
“Phillip is currently in remission, but due to this type of cancer and the fact it had returned once before, it is only inevitable that it will return again without further treatment,” Ashleigh said.
“He’s expected to have more chemotherapy and another bone marrow transplant in the coming months to help prevent the cancer returning again.”
The couple were married on Wednesday, but some of their former colleagues at Admiral are now raising money for a big wedding party next year, when Phillip is better.
A Go Fund Me page has already raised more than £2,500 in just two months.
Faye Hughes, who worked with Ashleigh and Phillip at Admiral, said: “When someone says ‘they are made for each other’ they must have met Ashleigh and Phill. Facebook.
“I have never met a couple with such big hearts and lovable personalities, devoted to each other through thick and thin.
“With a combined length of service of more than eight years, they certainly have a place in the heart of the whole department.
“Things were looking up for both Phill and Ashleigh and they were starting to make plans together, preparing to get married and have a family. But their plans were halted when Phill had the news that he had lymphoma and would need to go through another series of chemotherapy. This was devastating news.
“Ashleigh and Phill have managed to stick together and will continue to do so. But as you’d expect, money has been tight and we’d like to be able to give them their dream wedding.”
If you would like to give to Ashleigh and Phillip’s wedding fund you can donate by visiting https://www.gofundme. com/2brk9cks