Colne woman widowed after husband dies just six months after wedding – LancsLive

A woman from Colne was left widowed after losing her husband to cancer just six months after their wedding.

Emma Smith has told how her husband Scott died after a battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma - a type of blood cancer - in August last year.

The pair - who met in their teens - had got married just six months earlier in March.

The 29-year-old said: "Scott and I met when I was 18 and he was 19, we were both on a night out in Burnley. I remember saying to Scott that I didnt want a boyfriend as I was going away to university in Birmingham and I wasnt going to be coming home every weekend!

"But he said that was fine, and the rest is history."

Just over two years ago, Scott Smith, a 29-year-old firefighter, discovered a lump on his neck.

Due to his dad having recently died from prostate cancer, he was particularly aware of his health and went straight to see his GP.

Emma added: "His GP said it wasnt anything serious. Scott wasnt happy so he went back again and saw the practice manager who told him to come back in six weeks if the lump hadnt gone."

After returning to his GP six weeks later, Scott was referred to hospital for tests which revealed that he had Hodgkins Lymphoma - a type of blood cancer.

Emma said: "We were told that if you get cancer, this is the one you want to get as its so curable and easy to treat. Six months of chemotherapy and then you should be fine.

"Because of this we really thought everything was going to be okay, but things didnt work out that way at all."

A few days after receiving his diagnosis, Scott started chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, he didnt respond to treatment like doctors had hoped.

This is when the possibility of a stem cell transplant was first mentioned. Despite numerous knock backs, Scott approached the road ahead with positivity and bravery.

The Colne woman explained: "We were told if chemo works, he will need a transplant. That was the dream, a transplant. The chance of a cure."

Emma and Scott had got engaged in 2017 and had their wedding booked for April of last year.

Due to Scotts diagnosis, they took the decision to cancel the wedding in advance, as they thought Scott would be too ill to go ahead with the day.

Emma recalled: "However when we were sat in the hospital one day, we decided to get married. We were madly in love and best friends, we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.

"Just six weeks later we got married surrounded by our closest friends and family, it was a magical day filled with love and laughter."

Shortly after their wedding, Scott developed a hole between his oesophagus and bronchial, which was caused by the cancer and worsened by the radiotherapy he was having. This resulted in fluid directly entering his lungs and he developed pneumonia after pneumonia.

Emma explained: "At this point we were told that we had two options, stop the radiotherapy and give Scott end of life care or they could attempt to reconstruct Scotts airways, but we were told that he could be in hospital for up to two years and chances are he wont survive.

"So, they gave us two choices but really there was only one."

In April, Scott stopped all treatment and Emma stopped work to care for him.

Emma's sisters, Hannah and Charlie, and the rest of their close family and friends rallied around both her and Scott during this time.

Scott died in August, at the age of 30.

Emma said: "The week before Scott died our friends and family didnt leave the house. Charlie lived in London but came to stay with her boyfriend, Lynas and Hannah was even with Scott when he passed away.

"Im so close to my sisters, we speak numerous [times] a day. Its the little things, Hannah has given me a house key and they took me away between Christmas and New Year, as they knew it was going to be a difficult time.

"The list of things they do for me is endless, Im very lucky. As clich as it sounds, I couldnt have got through it without them.

"I know that Scott took great comfort in knowing I had them by my side."

Before Scott died, Emma talked to him about doing the London Marathon and after asking Hannah and Charlie if they would be up for the challenge, the three of them signed up for the 2020 event together.

They are raising money for the blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan.

The trio call themselves the Hope Runners as they aim to give hope to other people like Scott, who sadly died before he was able to have a stem cell transplant.

Emma claims running has helped her to cope since the passing of her husband.

She said: "Weve set ourselves a big goal for fundraising and training to give us something amazing and positive to focus on in what we know will be the hardest year.

"Weve seen each other through the darkest of times so if we can get through that together, we can get through a marathon."

Anthony Nolan is the charity that finds matching donors for people with blood cancer and gives them a second chance of life.

The charity also carries out ground-breaking research to save more lives and provide information and support to patients after a stem cell transplant.

Anna Scalera, head of events and community at Anthony Nolan, said: We are delighted that the Hope Runners are lacing up her trainers and running theLondon Marathonfor us this year.

"With every mile completed they will be providing hope. The funds they raise will enable us to recruit more potential stem cell donors to the Anthony Nolan register any one of whom could give a second chance of life for someone with blood cancer.

To find out more about The Hope Runners, or to make a donation, click here.

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Colne woman widowed after husband dies just six months after wedding - LancsLive

Brief respite for Wills in cancer battle – Pentiction Western News

Its Saturday afternoon and nine-year-old Wills Hodgkinson has just returned from visiting a friend. Upstairs in the playroom of his familys Naramata home, his attention is divided between the shiny new Yamaha drum set and the Mighty Ducks movie playing on television.

This is the best part, he said, cranking up the volume on the remote for the critical scene of the show. Its just a really well-made movie, I like the storyline. This is the second Ducks movie, the first one was really good but the third one sucks.

For most kids his age, this would not be anything special. But for Wills, who for the second time in his young life is battling cancer, its anything but typical.

Last week Wills, his father Tim and younger sister Scarlett got to come home from B.C. Childrens Hospital for the first time as a family since late December when Wills had surgery and began chemotherapy again.

But at least for a few days, even with the medical tubes still attached to the outside of his chest, the punishing hospital routine is a lifetime away.

Im feeling really good, its nice to come home and see my friends. I just got back from my best friend Jordans an hour ago and hes coming over tomorrow morning, weve been friends for five years, ever since kindergarten, said Wills with his ever-present smile. Its really great to see my friends, theyve been there to see me at the hospital and its really important that I get to see them again, I miss them.

READ MORE: Nine-year-old Penticton boy fighting cancer with a smile

The other fun thing he got to do on this trip home: I went to school again on two days and saw my other friends and everybody was glad to see me again and they asked about the hospital and I told them some stuff. It was fun.

Wills is in Grade 4 at Holy Cross School and staff and students have been in close touch, even buying him an iPad so they could Facetime back and forth and allowing him to participate in class when hes able.

In Feb. 2018, Wills was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour, a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children. Then, just before Christmas almost a year past he was cleared two new tumours on his lung were discovered and treatment began all over again, including surgery to remove one of them.

Coming home for Wills has been immense, massive, said his father, Tim. Its so important to have that human contact, for him to sleep in his bed, have his toys, with all the best intentions in the world you cant replace that, theres nothing like it.

Just to let him be part of normal life, he gets to swap being a cancer patient for being a kid again.

Hodgkinson admitted it was with mixed emotions when they walked in the front door of the house last week for the first time since their hasty departure in December. Scarlett, Tim and mom Neeley Brimer have been staying with Wills at B.C. Childrens Hospital as he was treated.

We came home to all our Christmas decorations still being up, our tree had unfortunately lost all its needles and there were unwrapped Christmas presents still waiting. It was a really happy return but it was also kind of a bit sad, he said. But it has really been good for Wills, coming home is not going to be a miracle cure but it does lift a lot of weight. We hope the happier he is the better it will be for him to fight the cancer itself.

READ MORE: Nine-year-old Penticton boy faces return of lung tumours

The three returned to Vancouver Feb. 25 and Wills was expected to undergo a medical evaluation this week and learn his prognosis.

The family is expecting to get those results from the doctors on Friday at the hospital.

This will be one of those hold-the-breath moments, to see how effective the chemo has been on the remaining tumour they deliberately left in, said Hodgkinson, adding Wills could be in for another four, month-long chemo cycles as well as a stem cell implant.

So were in it for the long haul, we know that, just fingers crossed.

Both he and Brimer, who separated in 2016, have been spending time in Vancouver during treatment, Brimer at the hospital with Wills and Scarlett, who is four-and-a-half years old, and Hodgkinson at Ronald McDonald House.

Both parents had immense praise for the enormous support they have received from friends and the many people they dont even know.

Its incredible, in the best possible way its overwhelming, said Brimer. Im incredibly grateful for where we live and the people that are involved in our community.

Cancer

Tim Hodgkinson with his children, Scarlett, 4, and Wills, 9 at their Naramata home. The family has been in Vancouver since late December for Wills cancer treatments. (Mark Brett - Western News)

Wills Hodgkinson, 9, relaxes on the front porch of his Naramata home after being allowed a break in his cancer treatment in Vancouver. (Mark Brett - Western News)

Wills Hodgkinson takes a break from the drums that he got to play again after returning home from B.C. Childrens Hospital for a few days. (Mark Brett - Western News)

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Brief respite for Wills in cancer battle - Pentiction Western News

Michael Everest DeMarco Is Advancing Medical Education By Sponsoring Ground-Breaking Research – Yahoo Finance

Los Angeles, Feb. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Michael Everest through his foundation Everest Foundation is strengthening medical institutions by allocating to them millions of dollars each year to help with effectuating ground-breaking research in stem cell technology, nanotechnology, spinal injuries, and other areas.

Dr. Michael Everest is helping to train the next generation of doctors by providing sponsorships in the form of grants, residency fellowships, research fellowships, and unrestricted long-term gifts. His sponsorships have helped thousands of postdoctoral fellows to pursue cutting-edge medical research that is facilitating important medical breakthroughs.

Michael Everest DeMarco is an Indian-American physician who is the Chairman of the Everest Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to advancing medical research and education. The Everest Foundation is mainly funded by an endowment from his father Dr. Edwin Everest. It also receives further assistance from several ventures undertaken by Dr. Michael Everest.

The Everest Foundation funds several exciting medical research projects at top medical schools. Michael Everest DeMarco through his foundation supports the SCI and exoskeleton research at the Bronx VA. This is one of the few places in the world where they are doing extensive research on spinal code injuries. Through the efforts of this project, seven men and women who were wheelchair-bound for years were able to walk again.

Among the medical schools supported by the Everest Foundation include New York Medical School, Stanford University, University of Texas, Northwestern University, University of California Davis, University of California-Irvine, and Texas Tech University among others.

The Everest Foundation recently made a 10-year commitment of $1 million to the Keck School of Medicine. This will support medical research for postdoctoral fellows in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Michael Everest made this donation in his father's name in support of medical research and education.

A gift of $162, 500 from Michael Everest DeMarco has already sponsored the first neck and head postdoctoral fellow at the Keck School of Medicine.

The 10-year commitment will also benefit the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, which is a nonprofit teaching hospital affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine. It will help to support the hospital's global education track.

Medical education is important to Michael Everest DeMarco. He is proud to have made a contribution towards advancing medical education at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. As a premier pediatric teaching hospital, medical research is important to innovations in clinical care.

Dr. Michael Everest hopes to ultimately fund global initiatives. This will help train doctors in India and other countries.

A global initiative was recently started at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles by the Everest Foundation. This will bring foreign doctors from poor countries in Southeast Asia. According to Michael Everest DeMarco, these doctors will be brought to the US and trained on cutting-edge medical technologies and subsequently sent back to their countries. These doctors will be trained to provide improved healthcare in their home countries.

Many foreign medical schools such as those in the Caribbean and East Asia provide "good basic science." However, their graduates lack research experience. That is why Michael Everest DeMarco has undertaken to support international medical graduates by sponsoring them to acquire the research training that they lack.

One of the latest initiatives of Dr. Michael Everest banquet involves supporting pathology training for international medical graduates. He donated $500,000 to the University of California to support this endeavor. This will help Asian Indian graduates and other international graduates. The Davis School of Medicine at the University of California has a large Indian American student population. It is also known for cutting-edge medical research.

The Everest Foundation also supports community-based hospitals in developing countries. These hospitals mainly rely on government funding which is usually not enough. They are not well-financed as private hospitals. By financing community-based hospitals, Dr. Michael Everest aims to enable them to undertake paradigm-changing research that will have a positive impact on the community.

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Dr. Everest's philosophy is to support medical education and research with a focus on global health. This is something that is very close to his heart. His mission is to create good patient care in medicine and subsequently to improve the quality of life.

info@everestfoundation.com

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Michael Everest DeMarco Is Advancing Medical Education By Sponsoring Ground-Breaking Research - Yahoo Finance