Tragic mother raises cancer funds

A MOTHER who lost three members of her family to cancer in the same year has raised more than £1,000 for research into the disease.

Joanne Todd collected 1,200 for the Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research through the fundraising event to celebrate what would have been her mother Ann Hammond's 64th birthday.

Mrs Hammond died two years ago from ovarian cancer at the age of 62.

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During the same year, Mrs Todd also lost her mother-in-law Mary Adams, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, and her three-year-old niece, Georgia Hammond, who died just 12 days before Christmas from a brain tumour.

Mrs Todd said: "As a family we had a very tough year and at first you go through a lot of feelings and emotions. This year, as my mum's birthday was coming up, I decided I wanted to do something to mark the occasion.

"As we organised the event, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the local people. It was a real eye-opener."

Forty people attended the fundraiser, which included an auction and raffle, at Mrs Todd's home in Copmanthorpe, York, earlier this month.