She was a mum of six whose young children meant everything to her. But cervical cancer cut Leanne Hattersley's life tragically short when she was just 33.
As reported by Stoke-on-Trent Live, Leanne first suffered with irregular bleeding and leg pain. After repeated trips to her doctor, the mum from Blurton in Stoke-on-Trent received the devastating cancer diagnosis in December.
She first had chemotherapy, but suffered an anaphylactic shock and was instead offered radiotherapy for five weeks. In June she was told the cancer had spread to her bladder and it was terminal, and she sadly died on October 20.
Leanne was mum to Aimee, 13, Daniel, 11, Olivia, aged 10, Hollie Wallbanks, nine, Macauley, eight, and Mila-Mae, aged four. She also took in her 11-year-old niece Chloe Pepper, who paid tribute to the selfless single mum.
Now aged 18, Chloe said: "She fought to the very end. She was absolutely amazing.
"Everything was about the children - they were always her main priority, they meant absolutely everything to her. She never complained about life, she just got on with it.
"She loved getting stuck in with the kids, everything was about them. She did have struggles but she always made sure we didn't know.
"We never saw her cry except when she was in pain, she was always putting a brave face on for us. She was a dedicated mum to her kids and to me."
When Leanne, who worked as a chef at Burger King, was diagnosed with cancer, Chloe became full-time carer for her aunty and her children. "Social services were involved to assist me and I was still at college full time," said Chloe.
"Leanne took me in and looked after me, that's what she was like and I've lived with her ever since. She felt so helpless and I said to her, 'You did it for me back then when I had nothing, looking after me, and now I'm going to do it for you.'
"I had to get the kids up, give them breakfast and take them to school. I'd then go to college and I'd leave early to pick them up and bring them home and make their tea and give them a bath.
"I'd then do some college work and I would also be helping Leanne to get dressed and with her medication. All she wanted to do was put a wash on, Hoover and hug the kids, but she couldn't and she absolutely hated it."
In August Leanne deteriorated and went to live at the Douglas Macmillan Hospice in Stoke-on-Trent. Leanne's eldest daughter Aimee went to live with her father and her other children were placed into foster care.
Chloe says she speaks to the children on the phone every day and regularly visits them for days out. She said: "I don't see them every day but I do speak to them on the phone every day talking about Leanne and their memories.
"She used to take the children to the Fun Factory in Fenton. Leanne's best friend Katie and I went to pick the children up and we took them there as they hadn't been since their mum got ill and they were talking about everything she used to do. They're doing really well."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise money for Leanne's funeral and Chloe thanked all those who have donated. Paying tribute to her aunt, she said: "She was my biggest inspiration because of everything she'd been through.
"She had similar experiences to me growing up and I looked up to her that she could get on with it and I want to be that strong. Every time I try to tell people about Leanne I always end up laughing because that's what she made everyone do.
"She'd walk in the room and everyone would laugh, she was the joker in every place she went to. Everyone remembers Leanne for her laugh, you could hear it from a mile away and know it was her.
"She was always laughing, always cracking jokes, always making sure everyone got anything before her. She would be there for anyone when they needed it.
"You could text her and she's drop everything and be there. Leanne had a really difficult life, but she still put on a brave face every single day."
