An “amazing and selfless mum” from Bury St Edmunds who was told her cancer was incurable at the start of lockdown has died at the age of 37 – leaving her two young sons and husband devastated.
Lily Daly sadly died on Friday, August 7 after having an aggressive form of breast cancer, which spread to her skin and caused her health to deteriorate rapidly.
Her husband Mark, 38, who met Lily on the first day of university at Nottingham Trent more than 18 years ago, has paid tribute to his “glowing” wife who was “loved by everyone”.
“Lily lit up a room when she walked in,” said Mark, who is a solicitor and was born in Ipswich.
“She had an amazing smile, she was utterly beautiful and she had a great laugh, which everyone loved.”
Lily was born in London and married Mark 12 years ago, before the pair moved to Horringer.
She owned a successful shop called Lilyo in Bury St Edmunds for many years before taking her business online, specialising in freshwater pearl jewellery.
Lily was an “amazing mother” to two young boys – James, aged eight, and Ben, aged three – and she enjoyed spending time at the seaside and being in the water.
Mark described his wife as his “best friend” and said she was incredibly kind and selfless, always putting others first and never feeling sorry for herself during her treatment.
He said they were thankful for the lockdown as it meant they could spend Lily’s last few months together as a family, enjoying her company.
Lily was diagnosed with triple negative invasive ductal breast cancer in February 2019, when doctors discovered she had a gene mutation which made her more susceptible to the disease.
She had 12 months of treatment, including intensive chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a double mastectomy and reconstruction.
A year after her initial diagnosis it was confirmed the cancer had spread to her skin and was incurable.
Mark said the news was “devastating” for the family.
The “bright and intelligent” mum remained active throughout and Mark said she “had a glow right up until the end”.
Before Lily’s death she became involved in lots of groups and forums to find out more about the disease and share her advice with other women online.
“She was always willing to help others,” explained Mark. “She was so positive and just wanted to help raise awareness of the illness.”
Lily went into St Nicholas Hospice last Tuesday, and had been supported at home by members of the hospice team and district nurses in the lead up to this.
Mark described the care Lily received at West Suffolk Hospital as “incredible” and expressed his thanks to Dr Woodward, who he says Lily trusted implicitly.
He said the doctors and nurses did everything they could for Lily in such difficult circumstances.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Lily’s funeral will be limited to close family only.
A tribute page, where people can leave messages and make a donation can be found here.
All money raised will go to CoppaFeel, a breast cancer awareness charity which is working hard to encourage early detection in order to avoid this terrible disease taking the life of more women like Lily.
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