When Sarah fell ill with cancer 4 years ago she became a patient of the York oncology department. The team - Dr Darby, Jo Love, the oncology nurse among the other staff there - were fantastic with her over the following years. They provided the best medical treatment they could, but beyond that, they provided incredible emotional support. They were also extremely kind towards us, her family, and even continued to help us after Sarah died.

Sarah was keen that something should be done to help support them in return and we have set up a Just Giving page in her memory and as a thank you to the oncology department at York hospital.

The physical and emotional support the team provides seems to go above and beyond and is invaluable to the patients in their care and to the families and friends of those patients.

It must be very difficult to forge real relationships with patients knowing that you will lose people, but this did not prevent the staff from befriending us wholeheartedly. They do difficult, unbelievably important and often thankless work on a daily basis. We hope this page will go some way towards recognizing their efforts.

Sarah lived life full throttle, she was intrepid and yet caring. She was a major force in the local community, and it was a shock to everybody when she became so ill.

Sarah was ever ready to organize help for others. She would seek out solutions, find the best advice and pull out all the stops for a friend in need, or even a stranger. She was a fearsome fundraiser and consummate events manager, she was the best person to have at a party and could be relied upon to make things go with a swing. She was a feet-first, loud, funny, passionate and fiercely loyal friend and never one to suffer fools.

When she became ill, Sarah took her illness, as she did all life’s challenges, by the scruff of the neck and faced it full on. She continued to keep herself fit, to swim and play golf to a high level and win competitions. Her competitive spirit was undiminished. She became Lady Captain at Kirkbymoorside Golf Club, continued to share walks up Shallowdale with friends on an almost daily basis and even went skiing with her family in Austria.

Sarah was always full of praise for those who cared for her well and she had nothing but admiration for the oncology staff at York. They treated her as a whole person and accepted her indomitable spirit and irreverence. She felt supported, not as a patient dying of cancer, but as one living with it.

Please join us in recognizing them in all they do, and help us to support them as a community so that they can continue to care for future patients in the same wonderful way.

Many thanks Prema, Rosie and Katie xxx