A young mum who is battling cancer is struggling to find somewhere to live after landlords keep rejecting her. Delilah May, 27, wants to move somewhere closer to her family after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.
Despite having a 'lovely home' in Lancashire, Delilah is desperate to be around her loved ones whilst her illness worsens for the sake of her three-year-old son, but is having a hard time finding anywhere to rent as landlords 'won't accept her' for a new tenancy.
The mum-of-one began experiencing bloating and pains in March last year, which she initially put down to an IBS flare-up. But as her symptoms began to worsen and she found it more difficult to play with her son Jake, she took herself to the hospital where she was later diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer.
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"I've had bloating throughout my whole adult life so I thought it was just IBS or something but it would not go away. Then I was getting pains in my back and sharp pains in my abdomen which was stopping me from being a mum," Delilah told LancsLive.
"I couldn't go on the floor and play with my son and do things with him. Then one day at work my boss asked if I was okay and I just burst out crying and he sent me home and I went to see a doctor. I was in tears and begging for help and just sent me home with painkillers."
After the shock diagnosis, the young mum wanted to move away from Skelmersdale to be closer to her relatives who live near Jake's nursery seven miles away in Ormskirk and Burscough.
But this has proven harder than expected, with Delilah unable to get a tenancy whilst her illness worsens.
Christina May, Delilah's mum, said: "Family knew that she would need to be closer to them when she was having flare-ups and would also need someone to care for her and someone looking after Jake.
"She has a lovely house in Skelmersdale with a good landlord and neighbours but all of her family live near Jake's nursery which is off Grimshaw Road and in Burscough. Fiercely independent, Delilah didn't want to move in with me, so it was decided we would look for somewhere nearby and offer six months of rent in advance but we had no landlords accept her."
When Delilah was first diagnosed last year, medical professionals initially did not think she had cancer due to her age. But once it was detected, the cancer had already spread throughout her abdomen.
Christina said: "They were unable to work out where the cancer had originated from so couldn't figure out what to treat her for. An operation was performed to save her life and chemo was started urgently. This gave her her life back and she was able to live her life for most of the time as the dedicated, fun and busy mum that she always wanted to be."
Still looking for somewhere closer to live and two months after her shock diagnosis, Christina found a new home in the area that the family thought could be perfect for Delilah. It had two spare rooms, meaning carers could stay over when needed.
Thinking they had found the perfect property, Delilah applied with the offer of six months of rent to be paid in advance. But attempts to secure a property have fallen on deaf ears since November last year.
One email, seen by LancsLive, states that one prospective landlord was 'looking for a tenant who is in full-time employment'. Delilah's situation sees her work part-time at the The Ship Inn at Haskayne as well as receive disability benefits due to her severe illness.
Mum Christina said: "Delilah applied with the advancement in the rent on top of her deposit, as an assurance that she was a tenant who could afford the home and would take care of it. As Delilah was unable to work while recovering from her operation, she was on disability benefits. Sadly we were emailed to say that the landlord did not want her as a tenant because she was not working full-time."
The family claims those letting properties they have spoken to are "not interested in hearing from her employers at The Ship Inn".
The Ship Inn at Haskayne, near Ormskirk, is hosting a fundraiser on June 25 to raise money for Delilah to "make memories with her son". The pub will be hosting a ticketed live music event, starting at 3pm with a disco and various games. There will also be hot food available and the opportunity to raise as much money as possible for Delilah and her family, with all funds going directly to them.
Delilah said: "That pub treats you like family and I just have absolutely no words for what they've decided to do for me. They are giving me the chance to make memories with my son and I think it's great and it's overwhelming that people want to donate."
Tickets for the event are priced at £10 and more information will be posted onto The Ship Inn's Facebook page.
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