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A young woman tragically died just weeks after her wedding day, with her widowed husband calling on people to support life-saving cancer research.
Victoria and Angus Hall-Hulme got married on 4 August last year, having first met after recognising each other from a dating site in 2020.
They locked eyes while walking through Hyde Park in London, but didn’t speak to each other until later when Victoria contacted Angus.
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They went on a date and their relationship went from strength to strength, tying the knot last summer.
However, just four weeks after their big day, Victoria died at the age of just 33.
Not long after her romance with Angus began, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer - having felt no sign anything was wrong until she suffered two weeks of abdominal cramps, a little weight loss and fatigue.
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“Why would anyone want to go out with someone with cancer?” she told the Press Association last year.
“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 removed her tumour and Victoria began six months of chemotherapy, but scans in March revealed the cancer had sadly spread to her peritoneum, the tissue lining the abdominal wall.
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“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,” she said.
Knowing her time was limited, Victoria organised a wedding in just six weeks from her hospital bed, having roped in a friend to make her wedding dress while others helped plan the service at St Thomas More’s Catholic Church.
As her health deteriorated, she was moved to her family’s home in West Wittering, West Sussex, and then to a hospice in Chichester, where she passed away on 2 September, surrounded by loved ones.
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Now her family are raising awareness of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, building on huge fundraising efforts Victoria made before her 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 spokesperson for London, added in a statement: “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.
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“If we all stand together, we can save lives.”
Topics: Health
Jess Hardiman