‘FOR HER INVALUABLE LOVE AND SUPPORT’
Single mum Natasha Sanders, 47, says she couldn’t have got through having cancer without the support and help from her mum, Theresa, 81.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. I was a single mum and dealing with the scary prospect of going through chemotherapy. Each session was gruelling and could wipe me out for days, so Mum would regularly come and stay with me.
She is very hands-on and would just get stuck into helping out, no questions asked – looking after the kids, making sure their school uniforms were ready, cooking dinner and taking them to clubs. She just took over the mum role so I didn’t have to worry about anything other than getting better. When chemo ended, I had to go into hospital for a lumpectomy. It was the same week we went into the first lockdown, which was frightening, as people were being rushed in all the time with possible COVID-19. My parents came to be with me and ended up staying for a month.
I honestly don’t know what I would have done without my mum there.
She is so practical, and just took over the ironing and cleaning the house so
I could rest and recover. My parents also helped me out financially. With no extra support available, there is no way I could have got through it without both of them. Mum was also there to talk to. She was obviously worried about me, but at least we could talk through what was happening together to try to make sense of it all. My life is now back on track, and I know much of that is down to the love and support she gave. I’m eternally grateful to her.
‘I honestly don’t know what I’d have done without my mum’