A devoted single mum-of-six has lost her battle with cervical cancer less than a year after being given the all-clear.
Victoria Ayres who was described as ‘beautiful and funny’ was re-diagnosed with the disease after initially being told she’d beaten it.
The 37-year-old had been focused on ‘making memories’ with her children but was then tragically told she was terminal 11 months later.
She passed away on July 12 after the cancer spread from her cervix to her kidney, pelvis and stomach, and left her body paralysed and needing two kidney bags.
The full-time mum had shown no symptoms before she suddenly became poorly ‘out of the blue’ in early December 2019, according to her cousin Chris Murray.
The 33-year-old recalled how much weight she’d lost when they spent time together in the days leading up to Christmas that year.
But the pair were left devastated when Victoria was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer and was told she needed to undergo treatment immediately in a bid to save her life.
She was only given a 30 to 50 percent chance of survival, but against all odds she rang the bell at Preston Royal Hospital on April 9, 2020, to signal that she’d been given the all-clear.
Chris said it was ‘incredibly emotional’ and afterwards took on a charity walk to Wales to raise funds so that she could enjoy time with her six children and ‘have unforgettable memories’.
Victoria moved from her home in Blackburn, Lancashire, down to Wales and got to enjoy pate and toast – which was one of the things on her bucket list.
But by March 2021, her condition had deteriorated rapidly, and the cancer spread to other vital organs.
Chris, who was only able to see her sparingly due to Covid, said Victoria was the ‘life of the party’ and that no one would ‘ever forget her’.
“We are all just completely heartbroken by what happened. Victoria was too young, and too good,” he added.
“Vickie was a fun-loving mum, she was the life and soul of the party. She was very happy all of the time. Her kids were her life, she would do everything for them.
“We’ll always remember her, no one will ever forget her. I will remember her as being a happy, beautiful and a good mum.”
He said the whole family were completely devastated when Victoria relapsed, as by then the cancer had become more aggressive and they weren’t able to be by her side.
“When she rang the bell, we thought she was getting better, we wanted her to make all of these memories with her kids,” said Chris, from Preston, Lancashire.
“We never expected Vickie to die from this, never. We just wanted to focus on the walk and make sure they had the best time together.
“But she became so poorly she was barely conscious and people couldn’t visit her.”
The brave mum was able to celebrate her 37th birthday with her children Davina, Michael, Matthew, Megan, Amelia and C-J just a week before she passed away. Her funeral took place yesterday in llysfaen at Conwy County.
The six children are now living with Victoria’s mum Theresa and Stepfather Gary.
