A young mum has raised more than £11,000 for her own funeral after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Viki Holdcroft, a mum of two from Staffordshire, raised the money within a month of setting up a GoFundMe page because she was worried about how her family would pay for her funeral.
The 38-year-old – who has a daughter, 15, and a five-year-old son – said: “The doctors told me as long as the treatment is working there’s no reason I can’t see five years, but I’ll be honest: the way I feel at the moment I don’t think I’m going to be here long.
“It feels more like I’d be lucky to make it a year at this moment in time.”
Worried about the cost of a funeral, Viki set up a GoFundMe page on March 18, and in less than a month she had raised more than £11,000.
Viki said: “Honestly I can’t tell you how unbelievably overwhelmed I am by it.
“I’ve had all kinds of offers of support from groups and things, it’s been lovely.”
Viki has planned a natural funeral with a willow casket and her ashes will be buried with a tree.
She said: “For me, giving back to nature is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
In January, Viki was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump in her right breast and a plan was put in place to aggressively attack the cancer.
But a month later Viki was told: “The cancer has actually just spread too far, it was in my hip, it was in my back.”
This not only limited her mobility but masses in her stomach and lungs meant that her care plan changed from curative to palliative.
The doctors were unable to give Viki even a vague life expectancy: they simply had “no idea”.
As Viki’s funeral is organised and paid for, any money now donated will help her create lasting memories with her partner, Chris, and children Aaliyah and Arlo.
Her fundraising page can be found here.
