Christmas cancelled as new mum and dad both diagnosed with cancer

"I don't know how we are going to keep living in this house"

Christmas cancelled as new mum and dad both diagnosed with cancer

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A newly-married couple have both been diagnosed with cancer in the same year their baby daughter was born.

This time last year Matt and Laura Lambert were looking forward to getting married and welcoming their first child in the spring. But their world came crashing down when Matt, who had visited hospital several times over the previous two years with “excruciating” abdominal pains, was diagnosed with a rare type of stomach cancer called neuroendocrine tumours.

The couple, who have been together for 15 years and work in software, did not let the bad news ruin their life plans, and eloped to Las Vegas in March. Two months later their daughter, who they do not wish to name, was born, but after giving birth, Laura kept coughing and experiencing temperatures and night sweats.

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She said doctors initially thought these were postpartum symptoms before a chest X-ray in November revealed Laura, 38, had a 15cm mass in her chest cavity which was stage 3 lymphoma – blood cancer.

Matt, 42, is scheduled to have an operation to remove his tumours in February, and Laura will start “intensive chemotherapy” before Christmas, but the pair are concerned about losing their home if they can no longer work and cover the mortgage repayments.

Laura’s mum Karen has launched a fundraiser to help the couple pay their bills and afford childcare as both will be forced to stop working during treatment. Laura told PA Real Life: "I was thinking 'why us?'

“I’m losing so much precious time not being a mummy to our beautiful daughter. Even her first Christmas has basically been cancelled for us this year.”

Matt added: “All these worries have been getting to me because I don’t know how are we going to keep living in this house with all of the uncertainty ahead.”

Matt and Laura met in an online chat room in 1999 where they bonded over playing The Legend Of Zelda, a popular action-adventure video game. Matt, who was 19 at the time, was living with his family in Wellingborough, more than 70 miles away from Laura, then aged 14, who was in Nottingham.

After a couple of months of messaging, their mothers agreed to meet face-to-face halfway and the pair soon became close friends. They then lost touch for a few years but in 2007, Laura messaged Matt on Facebook out of the blue and the pair have been together ever since.

All had been going according to plan until Christmas Day 2021 when Matt suddenly fell violently ill after finishing his dinner. He said: "I was bent over and throwing up because I was in so much pain.”

The “excruciating pain” returned every three months for a few days. After multiple hospital visits, Matt was referred to a gastrointestinal specialist in Derby, where they live.

The specialist suggested Matt could be suffering irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but he was not convinced and asked whether there were any other tests. He was told an MRI scan could help shed light on what was wrong.

In February 2022, Matt suffered another flare-up and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. This time, he said he insisted on having an MRI and discovered he had been living with a rare type of stomach cancer.

To prevent the flare-ups, Matt has been forced to change his diet and will not be able to enjoy Christmas dinner this year. He said he is on a diet of "beige food, basically".

Despite the bad news, Matt and Laura said they tried to “carry on with life” and decided not to postpone their wedding, having already done so once because of covid.

In May, Laura gave birth to a baby girl and was looking forward to being a mother when disaster struck for a second time. Laura developed a cough that wouldn't go away.

After visiting the doctor "three or four times" she was sent for a chest X-ray, and was told to come back two days later to collect the results. Laura said: "I could actually see it, it’s a 15cm mass.

“They said the GP would call me tomorrow, but he actually called later that day and said it’s lymphoma. I knew exactly what that meant.

“It took a few weeks to process and now I’m going to start chemo and get it gone.”

Laura is concerned that her poor health is getting in the way of being a mum, and is due to start chemotherapy on December 18. Her mum Karen said: "She’s not able to do a lot of things. She wishes she could do more and feels like she’s missing out on some things, especially at this time of year.”

Of their daughter, Matt added: “She is our one shining light", but the couple is worried they will lose their family home if they are forced to take time off work and cannot afford to cover their mortgage repayments.

Matt said: “Obviously the cost of living is quite high at the moment and my mortgage deal was about to run out this month. I have got a new one now but I’m still £500 worse off, and with the uncertainty of the future and our new baby, I’m not sure we’ll be able to carry on living in this house.”

Matt was told specialists should be able to operate on his tumour which is in the small intestine. His surgery, which has already been postponed twice, is scheduled to take place in February.

To support Matt and Laura, visit the GoFundMe page here

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