Cancer mum makes magic memories for her daughters

AMUM who won’t see her daughters grow up has created her own milestone memories – by taking them wedding dress shopping and house hunting years early.

Mother-of-two Dawn Wilson, 34, dreaded missing out on her two girls’ “big days” when she was given less than a year to live with breast cancer.

She was determined to be there for her girls on their special days – and has now taken Imogen, 12, and Madeleine, eight, on their special “memory days”.

Imogen and Madeleine have both chosen their wedding dresses, prom dresses, first homes and first cars with their mother.

The brave mum has been ticking off important milestones that she will not be able to be a part of – and leaving them treasured photographs.

Dawn, from Hengoed, near Caerphilly, said: “I spent a day with each of them separately where they got to choose the wedding dress they would love, their prom dresses.

“We even went and chose their first cars and first homes. It was very emotional but I am so glad we did it.

“I am proud of them, they are very special girls and I love them. I hope for the best for them and I’m so sorry I will not be there on these days.

“Nobody imagines they will leave their children before they grow up. I want to leave them as much of me as I can.”

In 2014 the former teacher found a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer, which eventually spread to her lymph nodes.

And in another blow, the girls’ dad, Ian, is battling the late stages of Huntington’s disease.

Dawn and Iain’s marriage ended after his diagnosis. Dawn then started dating new partner Steve Wilson, 35, whom she married in 2016.

She said: “My new husband, Steve, is a guardian angel and has promised to take care of the girls.”

Dawn believed until a month ago that she was in remission, but the cancer returned.

She said: “I have had a double mastectomy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other clinical trials. I believed up until a month ago I was in remission and then I discovered another lump. I went straight to the hospital and was told it had returned and is incurable. I probably have less than a year. I believe this was avoidable because I went to my GP as soon as I found the lump. It was about the size of a pea. After 10 weeks, which is the time I waited to have my scan, it covered a 12cm area.”

It was later discovered that the gene was on the male side of her family.

Dawn said: “I want the girls to look back in the future and see what we did together and how much we loved them.”

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