Parents diagnosed with cancer days apart 'blown away' by donations

Stu Ashby was able to visit his partner before he was admitted to a different hospital

Two parents who discovered they had cancer within days of each other have been "blown away" by donations to help towards their living costs.

Stacey Chetwyn and Stu Ashby, who have sons aged six and 10, are both unable to work due to their illnesses.

More than £15,600 has been donated by friends, family, neighbours living in the Leicestershire town of Syston, and even complete strangers.

Ms Chetwyn said the support had been "phenomenal".

"It goes to show that even when times are hard for everybody, people can find it in their hearts to do what they can," she said.

"Big or small it's very much greatly appreciated and gives some relief to not have to worry about [financial] things for a while."

Stacey Chetwyn and Stu Ashby have two sons, aged six and 10

Miss Chetwyn was previously diagnosed with cervical cancer in September 2020, but was treated for this and told she was in remission in April 2021.

Since then she has been raising awareness of cervical cancer and encouraging people to get screened through her Facebook page, called Cerviving: My Journey with the Big C.

However, on Wednesday she was told she had cancer in her pelvis, after being admitted to hospital on 10 September.

Mr Ashby was told he had cancer in his oesophagus, liver and spleen on 5 October, after being admitted to hospital on 24 September.

The couple were at different hospitals so they have only been able to see each other once since Mr Ashby was admitted. He has since been moved to a hospice.

"We have the occasional call, but that's a short 30 seconds," said Miss Chetwyn.

"It's just awful really and we can't be together at a time when you really need your partner. It makes it extremely difficult."

Stacey Chetwyn was in remission but has been diagnosed with cancer again

The couple's sons are being looked after by Mr Ashby's sister. Mr Ashby also has a 14-year-old daughter, who is living with her mother.

A fundraising page for the couple was set up by Vanessa Chetwyn, who is married to Stacey's brother.

She originally set a target of £2,000 to cover bills for a couple of months.

"Quickly, probably within an hour we'd reached that target and I was just totally overwhelmed," said Mrs Chetwyn.

"You could just see the relief in their faces. They were blown away. I said to them 'I'm not surprised at all because you know so many people and you are such an amazing couple and people recognise that and they just want to help'."

The couple are waiting for test results to find out more about their cancer and how it will be treated.