Lesley Turner, a 40-year-old mother, died in July 2022 after developing angiosarcoma, an extremely rare form of cancer affecting approximately one in a million people.
She was diagnosed in November 2021 after discovering a lump in her breast, and she and her husband Rob were told that her condition could not be cured.
Ms Turner discovered just how rare angiosarcoma is after seeing that some of the nurses treating her at Northern General and Weston Park hospitals in Sheffield had never heard of it.
Rob, Ms Turner’s husband, revealed his wish to honour his wife’s memory through fundraising. Ms Turner spent the last five days of her life at St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield, and made Rob promise that any money raised would go to the palliative care centre.
Fulfilling Ms Turner’s wishes, Rob has now raised nearly £4,500 for St Luke’s Hospice with a GoFundMe campaign, exceeding his original goal of £3,500.
The father has also organised a golf tournament at Hillsborough Golf Club in the city on May 12 – an event he hopes will raise £10,000 for the charity.
Angiosarcoma is a rare cancer which develops in the inner lining of blood vessels and lymph vessels. It can occur anywhere in the body but most often develops in the skin, breast, liver, and spleen.
Angiosarcomas usually look like a bruised, purple area on the skin, and may bleed easily when scratched or bumped. These areas grow bigger over time, and the skin around the bruised area can swell.
Rob and Ms Turner met in Glasgow in 2007 when Rob was fitting out an Iceland store, of which Ms Turner was the manager. They later had their son Liam, who is now eight years old.
Ms Turner moved to Sheffield, and the couple eventually bought their first home together. They were married on June 14, 2014 at Stannington Church. Rob spoke of how Ms Turner’s death was ‘tough’ on their son Liam, but said ‘he has lots of friends at school helping him and a loving family around him’.
The father added that card-making at school before Mother’s Day was particularly difficult for Liam, with grandparents offering him help and support.