A young bride, 33, has tragically died just weeks after her wedding day after a bowel cancer diagnosis. Victoria Hall-Hulme's husband Angus paid tribute to a "beautiful" woman "with a boundless enthusiasm for life."
She first met Angus in 2020 whilst walking in Hyde Park after the pair recognised each other from a dating site. While the couple did not speak, Victoria later ended up contacting him and they went on a date, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
Following a whirlwind romance, the pair enjoyed a blissful wedding in Chelsea last year. However, in between their first encounter and the big day there were months of heartbreak and anguish following Victoria's diagnosis.
The 33-year-old had had no inkling anything was wrong until she suffered two weeks of abdominal cramps, a little weight loss and fatigue. Speaking last year, Victoria said the diagnosis “was so terrifying” that her initial reaction was to push her new boyfriend away.
She said: “Why would anyone want to go out with someone with cancer? But Angus kept coming back, and every time I pushed him away, we would find ourselves being drawn back.
"He was my new best friend and so supportive.” Surgeons then tried to tackle Victoria's tumour and she began a six-month round of chemotherapy.
However, despite her treatment, her bowel cancer only got worse, as in March 2022, scans revealed it had spread to her peritoneum - the tissue that lines the abdominal wall. Victoria added: "I didn’t even know what the peritoneum was.
"The only words I heard were ‘It’s not good news. I’m sorry Victoria, your cancer has spread.
"It’s not curable’. I couldn’t understand – how could that be?
"It totally turned my life upside down. All my plans for having children, starting an awesome new job, all the things we strive for when we assume a long life, were scuppered, just like that.”
Knowing her time was limited, Victoria organised a wedding in six weeks from her hospital bed. She was not alone, however, as friends and family chipped in for the effort.
One friend even went to the effort to make her a wedding dress for the big day. Meanwhile, others helped arrange the service at St Thomas More’s Catholic Church.
Victoria confessed that the wedding was “magical and an absolute miracle it happened at all”. However, despite enjoying her big day her health continued to deteriorate. The bride was moved to her family’s home and then to St Wilfred’s Hospice where she died surrounded by her family on September 2 2022.
Following her passing, her family are now are supporting the Stand Up To Cancer campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, to build on the huge fundraising efforts Victoria made before her death.
Speaking about his wife's death, Angus, said: “Victoria was a beautiful, fit young woman with a boundless enthusiasm for life.
"Cancer can affect anyone’s life, at any time, so we really have no choice other than to unite against it and help support scientists to keep making new discoveries".
Lynn Daly, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for London, said: “We’re asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer and raise money that could help get new tests and treatments to those who need them most.
“If we all stand together, we can save lives".
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