Daughter's bid for memorial bench in honour of her mum

MEL BATTLED CANCER FOR SEVEN YEARS AFTER BEING GIVEN A YEAR TO LIVE

- By LAUREN COLE-LOMAS Multimedia reporter

A “BEAUTIFUL” mother from Horley has passed away after a seven-year fight against cancer. Melanie Bull was diagnosed with lung cancer, after thinking she had a trapped nerve in 2018.

The diagnosis came out of the blue after a mild seizure. Doctors thought Melanie may have had a mini stroke, so gave her an X-ray and blood tests, revealing lung cancer and 19 small brain tumours. Melanie underwent surgery to remove the brain tumours, and doctors used CyberKnife, which is a precise, high energy radiotherapy treatment. Surgery for Melanie’s lung tumour was delayed due to the tumour being at stage four.

After brain surgery Melaine lost use of her right arm and leg, so she had to relearn how to use a knife and fork. During recovery, Melanie joined a clinical trial for Afatinib which is a cancer growth blocker, and after a year the tumour had shrunk by 52 per cent. A lobectomy was scheduled for December 2019 to remove the affected lobe.