“I know how cancer can change Christmas, but cancer research and services happening in Yorkshire are helping keep families together.” – Lynn and Jemma’s experience

Last Christmas was a challenging time for Lynn Hall and her family from Doncaster.  

After visiting her GP with abdominal symptoms, she was fast-tracked for an endoscopy. On 22 December, a doctor found a tumour in her oesophagus but could not tell her more until a follow-up appointment in January.  

Lynn said: “We spent Christmas on edge. We tried to carry on with the usual festivities, a brave face and that classic British ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ attitude, but it was hard. Christmas is all about family and togetherness, so it makes you think about everything you could lose.” 

Like many families, putting up and taking down the Christmas tree is a staple festive tradition. Taking down her Christmas tree and decorations in January, including the many baubles she has collected with her daughter Jemma over the years, hit Lynn hard. She wondered if she would ever put them back up again.  

But thanks to ground-breaking treatments and cancer services in Yorkshire, Lynn will be putting the tree up and enjoying Christmas with her family once again.  

Lynn is sharing her experience and raising awareness of pioneering progress helping people in Yorkshire recover from their cancer treatment. The 58-year-old is supporting the Yorkshire Cancer Research Christmas Appeal to help keep more families in Yorkshire together. 

On 8 January, with Jemma by her side, Lynn was told she had a fast-growing type of oesophageal cancer, and she would need surgery to remove the tumour within weeks.   

She said: “When you are told you have cancer, it’s such a bombshell. You immediately start wondering how much longer you have to live. I was so pleased to have Jemma with me. She burst into tears but then started taking lots of notes, while I sat there in a state of shock. Most of the conversation was a blur, but the one phrase I held onto was ‘curative intent’. Essentially, it meant my cancer could be cured. For me, it meant hope I was going to get through this.”  

For Jemma, hearing the diagnosis was devastating.   

After the appointment with her consultant, a nurse gave Lynn a leaflet about Active Together, a research-backed cancer treatment service funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research that has been proven to aid cancer recovery and survival.  

Jemma said: “Mum spent a lot of time on Google at first, worrying about what was to come. It was a scary time, but as soon as she was booked in for her first Active Together session, it provided something positive to focus on. It was a chink of light in a very dark time.”  

“My hospital stay after major surgery was halved by cancer exercise treatment pioneered here in Yorkshire.”  

Lynn began cancer exercise treatment at The Dome, a leisure centre in Doncaster, in late January.

She said: “When every other appointment felt clinical and I was facing further tests and hospital visits, the Yorkshire Cancer Research exercise programme was different. I was greeted by smiling physiotherapists who were dedicated to helping me stay strong and prepare for surgery. They certainly put me through my paces!” 

Weeks later, Lynn underwent a major operation to remove the tumour.  

She said: “It’s incredible what the surgeons have done. They’re removed a large part of my tummy – I feel like everything’s been jumbled up and stitched back together again. My consultant told me because of the scale of the operation, I should expect to spend at least two weeks in hospital. But I was home in seven days. 

After the surgery to remove the tumour, Lynn received four rounds of chemotherapy to remove further traces of cancer. Exercise remains an important part of her recovery and Lynn returned to her Active Together sessions six weeks after the operation. 

She said: “I was keeping active and running 5Ks up to my third round of chemotherapy, where I started feeling under the weather. When I felt well enough, I began exercising again. The difference it’s made physically and mentally has been enormous and has helped me feel like myself again.  

“The expert team at Active Together have provided me with so much support. I’ve been able to meet other people with cancer who understand what you’re experiencing. It’s nice to feel like people ‘get’ you.”  

Lynn and Jemma have always been inseparable. They enjoy holidays and day trips together, walking Jemma’s dachshund, Mash, keeping fit, and rarely miss a chance for a new adventure.  

Inspired by her mother’s experience, Jemma completed this year’s Great North Run to raise money to support the life-saving work of Yorkshire Cancer Research.   

She said: “I saw the difference the charity’s exercise service made to Mum. From the very first session, she just lit up. If I couldn’t help her directly with her medical treatment, I wanted to help the helpers! I wanted to support research and services that give more families in Yorkshire the same chance we’ve had.

Donations to the Christmas Appeal help fund vital cancer research and services funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research. This includes clinical trials exploring new treatments, pioneering new genetic research to help people at high risk take steps to prevent cancer, as well as research-backed cancer exercise treatment provided through the Active Together service.  

Research increasingly shows exercise before, during and after cancer treatment can improve the effectiveness of other treatments, increase long-term survival, and lower the chance of cancer coming back.  

So far, over 5,000 people in Yorkshire have been supported through Active Together.

Jemma said: “This Christmas, thanks to vital research and services in Yorkshire, Mum can be with her family.”  

Christmas in the Hall household means gathering their large blended family together, including Lynn’s 89-year-old mum Rita, son Dan and his partner Abi, Jemma and her partner Kirk, and Jemma and Dan’s dad Steve. 

Lynn said: “There's always lots of food, especially cheese, and wrapping paper everywhere. We’re looking forward to properly enjoying Christmas this year, not just enduring it with a brave face.” 

Jemma added: “Mum is my best friend. I have friends but she is the best friend you could possibly have. Every bit of advice I want, or even don’t want, I take! We do everything together. Cancer is something neither of us chose, but it’s something we’re coming through together, from that first life-changing appointment to both of us cutting and donating our hair before her chemotherapy began.” 

This year, Lynn and Jemma will be adding something a little different to their Christmas celebrations. Alongside the family traditions they treasure each year, they will be walking down the catwalk together at a Yorkshire Cancer Research Christmas fashion show in York, celebrating how far Lynn has come since her cancer diagnosis.  

Every 15 minutes, someone in Yorkshire is told they have cancer. This November, Yorkshire Cancer Research will bring together 15 models affected by cancer from across the region for a special Christmas fashion show. The event will recognise and celebrate the supporters whose generous purchases and donations in the charity’s shops help fund vital research and services in Yorkshire, giving people more time together – not just at Christmas, but every day of the year. 

Lynn said: “Being involved in the Yorkshire Cancer Research Christmas fashion show means so much to me. I never expected to be in a fashion show at 58 years old, but since finding out about it, it has been one of the big lights at the end of a very dark tunnel. It's given me something to focus on."  

"I am so grateful for the excellent care of doctors in Yorkshire and of the work of Yorkshire Cancer Research, supporting people through their cancer treatment and funding new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer in Yorkshire, and keep more families across the region together.”