Chris Wright said he was "over the moon" when his "perfect" partner Michelle agreed to become his wife. "The moment she said yes it felt like I'd won the global lottery," he beamed.
"She's the kindest person I've ever met – really thoughtful, clever, and absolutely beautiful. I just felt so, so lucky." But for the majority of the time they've been together the pair have had to face more obstacles than most couples.
Four years ago, not long after they'd first started dating, Michelle noticed a lump in her breast and went to get it checked out by her GP. Following tests in hospital it was discovered she had triple negative breast cancer – an aggressive and hard to treat form of the disease.
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"It was obviously a bit of a shock as it would be to anyone," Chris, 42, from Llandaff, Cardiff, added. "She went through the initial treatment period with Velindre in Cardiff which was around three or four months long. She was then given the all clear and they were happy that the treatment had done its job."
But three years later, around November 2021, Michelle noticed a bit of swelling and went to her doctor once again. This time she was given the devastating news that the cancer had returned and had spread.
Chris said his fiancée has since gone through several rounds of different chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments which is still ongoing. At the moment it is not clear what the prognosis is for Michelle.
"She's had to come through a few really difficult things. She had fluid on both her lungs which was essentially crushing them and making it very hard for her to breathe. That was terrible. She's now had a procedure to clear them which everyone seems to be happy with and one of the lungs seems to be fine now."
Chris said it has been traumatising seeing the love of his life battle such terrible illness. "She is incredible – and that's not just a biased filter speaking," he added. "She was working in a profession that was helping others so she's a very caring, very thoughtful person and someone that's definitely got their head on their shoulders. She's very realistic about things but also very, very strong in terms of dealing with things. I'm hugely proud of how she's handled the situation."
Chris and Michelle met in August 2018 when they were housemates and became an item the following October. A year later, when Michelle had been clear of cancer for around six months, Chris proposed.
He said: "We got a really nice Airbnb near Tenby. The weekend was planned to be really bad weather with thunderstorms but surprisingly, for whatever reason, it was all blue skies. I had a plan A, B, C, and D for how the proposal would go but as the weather was so nice I went with plan A.
"I'd played a dangerous game by hinting that I didn't want to get married just to throw her off the scent. We went for a walk along this lovely area of the coastal path. I got down on one knee on the cliff overlooking the ocean and thankfully she said yes. I'd arranged at the place we were staying for loads of rose petals to be scattered all over and some candles lit which was another added surprise."
Throughout her time receiving treatment Chris said staff at Velindre Cancer Centre have been "truly exceptional" in caring for Michelle. "Obviously it's hard being a partner of someone that's going through this. Emotionally it's tricky and you sometimes feel like there's not anything you can do."
As his way of paying tribute to his fiancée and Velindre Chris is taking on the most physically difficult challenge of his life. Throughout Saturday, November 26, he is taking on 20 back-to-back Parkruns in Cardiff – a distance of 100km or 62.14 miles – which he believes will take him around 14 hours.
After setting up a JustGiving page he has managed to raise more than £12,000. To donate please go here. "The response I've had has been kind of overwhelming. I initially set a target of £5,000 and to be honest, I thought that was going to be a bit of a stretch," Chris said.
"All of the donations raised in aid of Velindre Cancer Charity are invested back into Velindre Cancer Centre and its community services. In addition to their support of cancer patients and their families Velindre also contributes to groundbreaking cancer research on a national and global scale, clinical trials, cutting-edge treatments, specialist nurses, support services, therapies, equipment, and so much more – so donations really do have a significant impact on patients and their families."
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