Suzanne has recently had a birthday and asked for donations to Melanoma UK, instead of gifts.  Her Danielle's mum, tells us about her beautiful daughter.

Danielle Smith (nee Killick) 13th April 1984-27th January 2019.

Danielle died due to melanoma; she was only 34 years old. Her melanoma started in the form of a wart in 2012 that was misdiagnosed as non-cancerous by her GP. Following a biopsy in 2014 the melanoma was confirmed and she underwent extensive surgery around the mole site and removal of several lymph glands.

Given the all clear in 2015 she carried on with her plans (having recently become engaged) for her wedding and had qualified as a lawyer following a three-year LPC course whilst maintaining a fulltime job as a legal assistant.

We were all incredibly relieved that the surgery had been deemed successful and were delighted to help her plan and celebrate the wedding and then a new job as a commercial property lawyer closer to home.

Towards the end of 2016 she started to feel unwell with a persistent cough and tiredness. In March 2017 after several weeks of illness, and then following hospital tests they discovered a 13cm tumour in her right lung. More Surgery followed and the biopsy confirmed our worst fears that is was melanoma and stage 4.

She embarked on a programme of immunotherapy through the Churchill hospital in oxford, which gave us some more time, and even allowed her to return to work, which was a tremendous boost to both her morale and her determination to fight on. We were able to enjoy two skiing trips with her whilst she was feeling well, and a wonderful Christmas 2017/2018 something we never thought we would ever see after the devastating diagnosis earlier that year.

Danielle was a shining star with so much to live for. She was kind, thoughtful, generous, a wonderful friend to all that knew her. A passionate Liverpool fan much to her husband’s Andy’s dismay as a Man U fan! She approached every challenge of the illness with positivity and hope, she provided tremendous support to the Facebook Melanoma Mates group, and the patients she met whilst receiving treatment and more surgery at the Royal Marsden in London. She was the proud owner of a Siberian cat called Boris, a big ball of fluff that gave her such comfort and companionship particularly when she was so low and in pain. She had a beautiful singing voice, which we were able to share at the funeral service after a friend found tapes that had been recorded when practising with a band she had joined. She had also recently purchased a guitar and was having lessons as she found the learning process a wonderful way to forget the disease and things she could not control.

Danielle lost the fight with melanoma this January following complications after her chemotherapy treatment and her immune system was impaired.

She is always in our hearts and thoughts; she was so brave, so beautiful and so strong and will never be forgotten.