Patient treated at The Christie looks forward to celebrating Christmas with her husband and first child

Three Christmases ago, Alice Hollingsworth (nee Fitton), from Poynton in Cheshire, was recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumour.

This Christmas will be a more joyful occasion as Alice, age 31, and her husband, Matt, spend it with their first child, Emma, born in May.

Alice, who is a planning consultant, received the shock diagnosis just three weeks after her marriage to Matt in 2020 and had emergency surgery to remove the brain tumour at Salford Royal Hospital.

Scans later showed that a tiny fragment of the benign tumour remained and was still growing. Alice was referred to Manchester’s internationally acclaimed cancer centre, The Christie, in March 2022 for six weeks of daily radiotherapy.

With the treatment behind her, Alice could focus on the future and was thrilled when she found out she was pregnant last year.

After ten hours of labour and an emergency caesarean section, Alice gave birth to Emma, who weighed in at 7lb. Both mum and baby were healthy, and dad Matt took six weeks off work to bond with Emma.

At her most recent MRI scan in July 2023, it showed that Alice’s tumour had continued to shrink, and she is currently being monitored twice a year.

Alice and Matt are both excited about Christmas now:

“We've got a busy festive season ahead of us. We'll be spending time with our families and bringing in the New Year with our friends.”

“We are looking forward to creating our own family traditions this Christmas, which we hope Emma will cherish for years to come.

“Finding out I had a brain tumour wasn’t quite the introduction to married life that we had anticipated. However, I had an excellent experience being treated at The Christie.

"I believe that all the staff at The Christie, from the nurses, receptionists and care staff to the consultants and radiotherapists, are extraordinary people who understand and show empathy towards each patient.

Both Matt and I have family members who have also undergone treatment at The Christie, and our families agree that it is a special place, surrounded by love and care. Instead of gifts at our wedding celebration party, we requested donations to The Christie.”

Alice had planned to run the London Marathon with Matt for The Christie in 2023 but had to postpone her place until 2025 after finding out she was pregnant.

Before being treated at The Christie, Alice had worked as a chartered planning consultant to help secure planning permission for The Christie at Macclesfield, the £26m cancer centre that opened in December 2021.

Following a short career break and maternity leave, Alice will return to her employer, Turley, in Spring 2024.

Pictured - Alice Hollingsworth ringing the end of treatment bell at The Christie.