Everyone who met our mum never forgot her. Her kindness, generosity, and love for her family shone through. Mum was infamous for her warmth and selflessness; constantly thinking and caring about others.

Mum went into hospital on 8th January and sadly never returned home. In the time she was in UCLH's care, she was treated with incredible dignity, respect and care. Mum thanked every person who came into the room, whether it was to top up her water, administer treatment that she was terrified to receive, or to take blood for her multiple blood tests. She referred to the staff as 'angels', despite being incredibly unwell and at times, in excruciating pain. 

Here is just a flavour of what mum's UCLH's angels did for her, they:

• Called her by her shortened name, that mum was known by: Efi  (rather than Ifigenia)
• Found out what her favourite Greek music was, and played this on loop to make her feel more relaxed
• Respected mum's deep Christian faith and accommodated not one, but two visits from mum's priest along with mum's mini church at her bedside, ensuring her icons were propped up so she could see them. 
• Massaged her hand with mum's Body Shop lavender massage oil from home, and then held it all night when she was afraid or upset
• Learned a bit of Greek to keep mum entertained and to make her feel heard and understood
• Listened intently to mum's story and her descriptions about her 'big family' so that when we visited they said 'oh, you must be...' and said our names
• Consulted with us as mum's family with great transparency, so that we could find our own way of talking to mum about difficult news
• Looked high and low in the hospital for vanilla ice cream - in mum's final 48 hours, she was able to eat and drink items of her choice, as there was nothing more that could be done to save her. One of the doctors put his hand in his pocket and sent a student nurse to find some vanilla ice cream from the shops. Mum's eye's lit up and she enjoyed a few delicious scoops. 
• Worked tenaciously and creatively to manage mum's pain. Drawing on multiple teams in the hospital on a coordinated response to her need. 
• Accommodated us - there are a lot of us in our immediate family and took up a lot of room! When mum wanted to see us all, they made that happen because that's what she wanted. 
• Made mum's family cups of tea and coffee on the day when we learned the shocking news that there was nothing more that could be done to help mum. They did this out of kindness and care for us. 
• Treated mum with unrivalled respect, like one of their own loved ones; her consultant told us on day 1 of her time at UCLH 'your mum is not a number'. Compassion embodied. 
• Did their absolute best to treat and try to save her. 

Mum was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma whilst she was in hospital. She died, holding Dad's hand at 8.59am on Sunday 29th January. Our lives will never be the same again. 

Please give what you can to support mum's angels at UCLH so that they can continue to provide the quality of care that she received. 

Over 14,000 people every year are treated for cancer at University College Hospital, and this number is rising annually. Our patients come from across the UK though mostly from north London, Hertfordshire and Essex. University College Hospital aims to ensure that all people with cancer, and their families and carers receive a world-class service from diagnosis through treatment and beyond. To achieve this aim and to support our patients, we have created the University College Hospital Cancer Fund which assists with important areas of work above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.