The community of West Belfast has come together to remember a much-loved mum, wife, sister and daughter after her death in July.
Jennifer McAuley-Bennett from the Stewartsown area, was just 45 when she died after a brave battle with bowel cancer. The mum-of-four was diagnosed with the disease in February 2020 and the following month had the tumour successful removed through surgery.
After trying chemotherapy, Jennifer, who worked for Sure Start, suffered a cardiac arrest, and was unable to continue with the treatment and during her next appointment with oncology, she was given a further blow - the cancer was spreading.
Read more: NI mum's pride for young children as she is told cancer is terminal
At this stage they moved forward with a low dose of chemotherapy, but it wasn’t enough to stop the cancer that continued to ravage her body. Jennifer lost her fight with the disease on July 27, 2022, just three months before her first wedding anniversary.
The McAuley-Bennett and O'Toole families wanted to show their support for all those fighting cancer, and to those who went "under the radar as a result of Covid-19." They challenged themselves to a 50k walk in seven days in the hope of raising vital funds for Cancer Focus NI. They completed the challenge in memory of Jennifer, and raised thousands along the way.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Jennifer's sister-in-law Louise described her as "the kindest woman who would put everyone's needs before her own".
"Anybody who knew Jennifer, loved her. She was just lovely and so kind. She was always putting other people first and would have done anything for anybody," Louise said.
"Whenever we knew that Jennifer was very ill, I was going to do the Brave the Shave for her, in support of her. Things happened really quickly, and it didn't come to that. I was going to do it to raise money for Cancer Focus but then it didn't seem appropriate to do it then.
"Gerard Mulhern, who has the 50 to 50 walking group, was amazing. The idea to do a walk, was always just an idea, but when Gerard heard about it, he made it possible. I had just verbalised the idea to Gerard and if it had of been left to me, it still would have been an idea.
"We did 50km over seven days, and finished last Saturday. We started on the Sunday and walked from Bangor to Holywood and it was amazing. We got the train at Finaghy and did that walk. The support was amazing and there was about 60 people walking.
"There were also some walks around Andersonstown and Lisburn. Even on the smaller walks there would have been at least 30 people. Jennifer has a huge family, and my brother has a huge family too and everybody came out. People were out on their mobility scooters to support us. On Friday night we done a walk around local bars, which was organised by Marty Fegan, and we were there with our collection buckets.
"It was amazing and the support was unreal. There are five collection buckets dotted around different businesses in Andersonstown and we are going to keep them out and about for a couple of weeks to try and get as much money as we can for Cancer Focus.
"Jennifer didn't get the full support from Cancer Focus because of how quickly things happened, so we hope that this money raised can help other families.
"It is absolutely overwhelming, the response. Especially in the current climate. Everybody is scared for the months ahead because of the cost of living, Everybody is feeling the pinch, yet people still found it in their hearts to donate. Whether it was 10p or £10, we were do appreciative of every donation.
"The community in West Belfast is absolutely amazing. They were unbelievable. We have done walks before for the NI Hospice, and we were shocked at the response because people were so kind. You nearly feel guilty for asking people, but their response is just so, so humbling and we can't thank them enough."
Please click on this link to donate to Cancer Focus NI in memory of Jennifer McAuley-Bennett.
READ NEXT:
- Daughter pays tribute to Belfast dad 'Papa John' who died from cancer a year ago
- Belfast man on the skin cancer signs to look out for as new service launches
- Co Down woman on being diagnosed with ovarian cancer aged just 16
- NI man's tribute following loss of mum six months after cancer diagnosis
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
