I've just graduated from the University of Salford after beating the same cancer as my mum

Receiving a first in her BA Dance degree, Lucy overcame the same type of cancer that - just three years earlier - her mum Melissa had beaten. Melissa received the all clear in April 2020, but during the coronavirus pandemic she fell seriously ill and was admitted to hospital. 

It was Melissa who encouraged Lucy to still take the place at university despite everything that was going on at the time.

"She really encouraged me to take my place at Salford that year," Lucy said. "She kept saying 'Just go. I'll be fine!' When she got out of hospital and came back to Lincoln, I then went to Salford a week later."

Lucy started her studies at the University of Salford in the autumn of 2020, but a second coronavirus lockdown meant that she was only in Greater Manchester for five weeks. She returned home to Lincoln so she was able to see her mum within the remit of restrictions. This involved carrying out her dancing at home, with only one room suitable for this. 

"I was doing all the dancing in the kitchen at the time because it was the only room with a suitable floor. The amount of bruises I got from kicking the countertop...it was a nightmare and I used to get so defeated. The lecturers were amazing at getting us through it online.”

Lucy’s second year started with her back at University of Salford, and Melissa was back to being well. The full-on nature led to health problems, and she was unsure if it was due to the exhaustion of her studies or something more serious. 

Lucy said: "I was getting symptoms from October. Night sweats and a big rash every time I had a drop of alcohol. I first went to the doctor in January. I didn't feel unwell, but I thought I should go get checked out. It was mainly tiredness really. I just felt more tired than normal but as a dancer, you struggle to know where to draw the line.

"It was by the end of March that I started noticing some lumps in my neck and an ultrasound located another one in my chest. The one in my neck started to become a massive lump. Everything came back clear despite the size of it. It was like a big golf ball and I struggled to move my collarbone.

"The next morning I just wasn't settled with the result so I rang the doctors and requested a CT scan. My mum had been really poorly in the build up to her diagnosis and I was still dancing so neither of us were overly worried. I was dancing 12 hours a day so I never thought I could have done that if I had cancer."

After CT scans and a biopsy, it was discovered that the doctors had found Hodgkin Lymphoma. As a result of the diagnosis, Lucy had to cancel her third year of studies and began chemotherapy. 

“I remember saying that I wasn't scared about what I was about to go through but that I was scared that my mum was going to watch me go through what she had,” she said. “She had survived all of that only to watch her daughter go through the exact same thing.

"I can't explain what chemo feels like, what the symptoms are or how it makes you feel. It's not just feeling sick and tired, it's just horrific. But when I was having it and she was there with me, she knew exactly what I was feeling and it was quite relieving actually because I didn't have to try and explain what I needed."

Her treatment ended in December, and just days later Lucy was in the gym, keen to get ready to complete her degree. During her recovery, Lucy wanted to find ways to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust, who had helped during her treatment.  This included roller-skating 300 miles with her dad, Alan, around Lincoln. They raised £2,500 in the process, and by April 2023 Lucy was back in the dance studio. 

Lucy said: "I was keen to do something physical, something that was going to be helpful to raise money for the charity but also help get me back to uni in September. My doctor told me that I wasn't going to be able to go back in September to do a full-time dance course and I was like, 'Watch me.'"

In September 2023, Lucy started her third and final year of studies. She was offered the role of Trainee Dancer with Dance at Salford's Artist in Residence, Move Manchester. Her success was recognised internally this May when she won the Outstanding Commitment Award at the University's Create Student Awards 2024. 

Sarah Jane Lockwood, Programme Leader for MA Choreographic Practice/Creative Dance and Lecturer in Dance said: "Lucy has consistently shown outstanding motivation, and a commitment to the course, to charity work and to develop her industry experience, despite significant adversity. 

"She is an unstoppable force. Before her illness, she was an outstanding student, taking all of the opportunities offered to her, both within the curriculum and through extracurricular opportunities. Throughout her time at Salford she has immersed herself in the dance, whilst also finding time to develop her musical interests and charitable activity.”