When Mary Hall turned 60 earlier this year – and her daughter, Jessica, was also turning 21 – they knew exactly how they wanted to celebrate.
Gathering friends and family together for a party, they both said they didn’t want gifts.
Instead, they asked for donations to ELF – Exeter Leukaemia Fund, the charity which had provided so much support to Mary while she underwent cancer treatment.
Because while Mary, her husband Derek and Jessica were coming to terms first with the diagnosis, then coping with Mary’s treatment, and yet more treatment when her cancer returned, it was the team at ELF who were there providing much-needed support.
While the cancer and treatment knocked them for six, ELF did much to make Mary and her family’s ordeal more bearable.
“I was diagnosed in 2018,” said Mary, from Buckfastleigh. “I first became aware something was wrong when I was eating a piece of Christmas cake, and a currant got stuck in my throat. It just didn’t feel right afterwards, and soon I had started eating only softer food. I then developed a lump on my neck, which grew bigger and bigger, and I thought it was a thyroid problem.”
One memorable day in March, Mary was diagnosed with lymphoma and by 7.30am the next day she was in haematology at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
Six months of chemotherapy, and 25 bouts of radiotherapy followed, before Mary’s cancer went into remission.
Unfortunately, the cancer returned, this time more aggressively. She underwent a stem cell transplant and much more invasive chemo.
She’s eternally grateful for the help she received from ELF throughout all her treatment. With Derek working in his job as a gardener at Exeter University, having ELF transport to take her to and from appointments was a godsend.
“They collected me in a very nice car, took me to my appointments, waited and then took me home again, even though we are about 25 miles away. It all helped to take the pressure off.”
During her second lot of treatment, Mary also used ELF’s counselling services. “It was good to have somebody different to talk to. I was in hospital for a month this time, and it was during the pandemic, so Derek could only see me through the window.
“And the ELF trolley would come round, bringing things like lollipops, because you get mouth ulcers during the treatment. They’d send me messages to ask how I was, to check up on me. They were really, really lovely.”
ELF also supported Mary in applying for benefits she was entitled to, including Personal Independent Payments and her Blue Badge.
“Derek was really stressed and trying to work, Jessie was at school, I wasn’t well, so to have ELF to support us was fantastic. Just knowing they were there meant a lot.”
While Mary is now cancer-free, she has a very low immune system, uses a mobility scooter or walker, and can no longer work; she has had to say goodbye to her career as hotel housekeeping manager.
But despite her health challenges, she supports ELF all she can. Her joint party with Jessica raised £900 from donations in lieu of gifts, and their fundraising hasn’t stopped there. Among other activities, they’ve taken part in ELF’s Santa Run, a golf day, and held a cream tea which raised £1,500. Jessica raised £1,000 with a skydive.
And one other silver lining has come from Mary’s diagnosis. It was visiting her mum on Yarty ward that inspired Jessica to go into nursing, and she’s now a qualified nurse based at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.