Mum told ‘go home and make memories’ after terminal cancer diagnosis

The family of an NHS healthcare assistant with terminal cancer are rallying to help her achieve her ‘last wish’ – to tie the knot with her long-term partner. Clair Honeywood, 45, who has been diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer and given a mere five per cent chance of survival with chemotherapy, dreams of marrying Danny Burch, 40, her partner of 21 years.

Despite the grim prognosis and the tumour being inoperable due to its location around a major artery, Clair, from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, is bravely commencing chemo while holding onto hope for a wedding day. Her loved ones are now crowdfunding to make this dream a reality.

Clair initially believed the pain was related to IBS. However, the “agony” eventually led her to visit her local hospital, where something unusual was detected in her pancreas. The 45-year-old’s symptoms worsened and she began to appear yellow. Weeks after her initial A&E visit, Clair received a different diagnosis. She said: “They didn’t want to give me my diagnosis because I was alone,” she shared. “My poor consultant didn’t want to tell me but I begged him to tell me.”

She was then informed that she had pancreatic cancer. She said: “The doctors told me that the cancer had not spread – but then they said it was not operable.” This news was another shock for her but she remains “really positive”, driven by her two children.

She said: “”The doctors said to just go home and make memories. I am only 45 and you don’t expect to go through this at this age. There is still hope but at the moment I am just focusing on the three months in chemotherapy. Life is for living – the body can’t survive without the mind so I have to be positive. Working in the NHS you see traumatic things and you push it aside – I don’t know if it is a coping mechanism.”

Even if the tumour shrinks following chemotherapy, doctors will still be unable to operate due to its location around the main artery, making surgery highly risky. She said: “The oncologist said six months worth of chemo and gave me 17 months to live. It is a C-shaped tumour wrapped around the artery. It is not normal for someone my age to get this cancer – it is a silent cancer too it is really tricky. When you don’t know what’s happening your mind just goes to some dark places.”

Speaking on her tough journey and her hopes, Clair shared: “You just feel like your whole world ended – you just think about your kids,” reflecting the emotional toll of her diagnosis. She also elaborated on her dream to tie the knot: “My partner Danny had been talking about getting married and my friend offered her hand to do the wedding in a farm which reminds me of my dad’s home in the country side.”

Despite the gruelling battle ahead, Clair remains optimistic: “I feel like I have been given the gift of time. I am spending more time with my boys – I have to look at the positives.”

The community has rallied around her throughout her terminal pancreatic cancer, raising funds to help fulfil her ‘last wish’ – marrying her long-term partner.

The loving partnership of two decades is set to culminate in marriage with her partner, Danny Burch, 40, as Clair joyously recounts: “We have been together for 21 years and it has been crazy that it took us this long to get married. He keeps looking at me and saying ‘I can’t wait for you to be my wife’.”

Clair is looking forward to a relaxed wedding, surrounded by nature and loved ones.She said: “It is going to be such a perfect day to get together with all of my friends and family that you don’t get with when you are working,” she said. “Me and Danny have been together for 21 years and it has been crazy that it took us this long to get married. He keeps looking at me and saying ‘I can’t wait for you to be my wife’.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up by a friend to help fund Clair’s wedding. To make a donation click here.