A 70-year-old woman battling cancer has spoken of the heartbreaking moment her sister died of the disease.
Heather Young's sister, Catherine, died after she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in January 2008, a month after celebrating her 61st birthday.
In June 2008, she collapsed in the shower and was rushed to Derby hospital where she later died.
Speaking about her sister's diagnosis, Heather explained how it did not stop Catherine working right up until her death.
"We were very close. I went with her when she was first diagnosed and was told it was terminal the whole family was rocked. She was not very old.
"We all felt so caught in the headlights and were that stunned by it," said the former manager of a Dorothy Perkins store in Nottingham.
"She carried on working as a secretary right up until she died.
"She loved her life and had two daughters, Shirley and Kay who I still see."
After her sister's death, Heather was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer.
The 70-year-old of Long Eaton had two major surgeries which removed half of her liver and was given the all clear in 2018.
But she was then hit with the shattering news that the cancer had returned, this time to her lungs.
She said: "I’m still here, I’m still alive and I’m having treatment again which will hopefully give me many more years to spend with my amazing family.
"There's two ways you can look at it, either I pack up and give in, or I just accept it and get on it with life. There's no way I am packing it in. Cancer doesn't discriminate.
"I’ve got a lovely big family with three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren."
At 9pm on Friday, May 17, Heather will be remembering her late sister and celebrating her life, along with hundreds of men, women and children on the Treetops Starlight Strut.
“I’m full of joy and thankful for my life and for me, I may need Treetops care one day – you never know."
Treetops Hospice Care, a registered charity based in Risley, provides nursing care and emotional support for adults with life limiting conditions living such as cancer, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
The annual Starlight Strut charity night walk is held in Derby city centre. Participants can walk either a 5km or 10km sponsored walk and this year’s tenth anniversary walk will have a carnival-theme.
Heather will be walking along with her daughter Jo-anna Joynes, 51, also from Long Eaton.
Speaking on previous events, Jo-anna said: “It’s absolutely fabulous on the night – especially at the start when everybody’s all together and dressed up.
"This year we’ll be walking the 5km route which will be good for me, though it takes me out of my comfort zone."
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