Kelly Peters – Mission for Awareness and Fundraising

Kelly Peters, a nurse from Penny Lane, experienced a life-altering moment when she visited her GP for back pain in 2022. By February of the following year, she received the devastating diagnosis of incurable metastatic breast cancer.

The 50-year-old Aintree Hospital nurse shared with the ECHO: “After the diagnosis, I was numb. It’s just devastating because you know that your life is going to be significantly shorter and you worry about the people around you, like my husband and sister.”

Despite being a palliative patient, Kelly is “effectively living a normal life” and continues to work full time, though she admits that “some days are worse than others.”

Determined to stay positive and avoid eliciting pity, Kelly has turned her focus to fundraising and spreading awareness about metastatic cancers, which occur when cancer cells spread from their original location to other parts of the body.

Last year, Kelly raised over £11,000 at an event in North Wales, with the funds going to the Marina Dalglish Cancer Centre in Aintree, where she receives treatment. “Last year, we had a fundraiser at a pub called the Lighthouse Inn, in a village where my husband and I stay in North Wales. We organized a full-on charity day with music, games, and raffles, raising over £11,000,” she said.

Plans are already underway for another fundraising event at the end of August. Kelly explained, “If my lifespan is going to be shortened significantly, then it’s nice to give something back. The cancer centre is great – they really made me feel safe every time I went there.”

Kelly also highlighted the need for more funding specifically for metastatic cancers, noting that while cancer research receives substantial funding, metastatic cancers often receive less attention.