'Without hospital my husband, daughter and I would not exist'

Bethany Jefferson-Loveday said being diagnosed with lymphoma during her first pregnancy gave her "something to work towards"

"Worcester hospital is a really special place for us," says Bethany Jefferson-Loveday who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma when she was 21-weeks pregnant.

It came as a particular shock because her husband, James, was five months into chemotherapy himself, for a different type of lymphoma.

"[I] couldn't quite believe it, when I got my diagnosis, that this was happening to me having seen him [go] through it," she said.

"Without the NHS and the treatment that we had and also the obstetric treatment... we as a family just wouldn't exist."

Mrs Jefferson-Loveday, who went on to have a healthy baby girl, was speaking as blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia said it would fund a specialist research nurse at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in full for a minimum of two years.

It meant more clinical trials could be opened in Worcester, the hospital stated.

'Relief and just disbelief'

Former patient Mrs Jefferson-Loveday, who has since had a second child, began chemotherapy after being diagnosed in May three years ago.

She had to "sort of detach" herself at first, unsure of the outcome.

"As time went on and I started to tick off the chemotherapy sessions... I was then able to sort of reconnect with the fact that I was potentially gonna be able to have this baby," she said.

"Then when the baby was here, I think it was just this sense of real relief and just disbelief.

"I think in some ways the pregnancy almost helped a little bit, because it gave me something to work towards."

Dr Shafeek said having a full-time dedicated research nurse funded by the charity would transform patient care

Solihull-based Cure Leukaemia, which has previously part-funded the role, said the additional funding would strengthen "life-saving clinical trial access for blood cancer patients".

Dr Salim Shafeek, clinical trials lead for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, is a former blood cancer patient.

He said having a full-time research nurse would transform patient care across Worcestershire and beyond.

"It means we can open more clinical trials here in Worcester, giving blood cancer patients access to the very latest treatments without the need to travel long distances."

Christine Bossa, the nurse taking on the role, said the trust appreciated the "generous" contributions from Cure Leukaemia and its supporters.

"We strongly believe in offering every patient the opportunity to participate in research," she added.

Cure Leukaemia's Run The Nations fundraising campaign, which will see chief executive James McLaughlin run 270 miles to every UK centre where the charity pays for specialist nurses, begins in Worcester on Wednesday.