Mel’s story

Mel shares her story on how your donations help her receive the care she needs after shock cancer diagnosis.

Donate now

Hi, my name is Mel and I am 39 years old. I am writing to you as I have been receiving care from Katharine House Hospice for over a year.

In December 2022 I received a shock incurable cancer diagnosis after thinking I just had a trapped nerve. It took me quite a while to accept what was going on and it threw me into the complete unknown. And, as a mum of two young boys, there was the big fear of not being around for them as well as a lot of other thoughts.

I have very upsetting days thinking about what is going to happen, but the hospice has been amazing at helping me process the hard stuff so I can get back to living and doing normal things like working, doing the school run, and going to watch my sons play football on a Sunday, as well as fitting in hospital appointments, injections, bloods and scans.

When I told my mum that I was referred to a hospice she was scared – many people have the perception that you go to a hospice to die. My experience has been so different. I wasn’t aware of the extent and variety of services until I was referred for care. It’s a whole package of support, from home visits and care to outpatient, pain management and therapeutic support.

I have a really good team supporting me now. It’s like having a safety blanket wrapped around me. I have had so much care, including complementary therapies and counselling and a six-week wellbeing course.

I now get pain management and fortnightly phone calls where they check in to see if I am okay. I’ve got access to the 24/7 helpline too. Having the hospice at the end of the phone is so reassuring. I’ve rang them on a couple of occasions when I’ve been unwell and they’ve gone above and beyond to help me. Knowing that there’s a team at the end of the phone every hour of every day makes all the difference. I feel very lucky; it’s like having a private personalised healthcare team.

Thanks to the support from Katharine House Hospice, my boys now see me doing normal stuff and managing and they are brilliant. They are really supportive of me and the charity and, along with friends and family, recently took part in the Stafford Half Marathon Fun Run to raise funds for the hospice and incredibly raised over £2,000. I am so proud of them all.

We will be doing whatever we can to raise funds for Katharine House and, today I am asking, if you will join us to help them continue caring and providing support for local people like me? A donation of any size really will make such a difference.

And finally…

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my letter and for your continued support of Katharine House Hospice – it is wonderful being part of such a caring community.

Mel Mahon