A woman has hailed her sister for her “vivacious” spirit while fighting her battle with cancer and living her life to the full in the months before her death.
Victoria Hall used the last months of her life to spend as much quality time with her friends and family as possible as well as supporting others suffering from bowel cancer.
Now, following her death in 2022 at just 33, her elder sister Georgie wants to continue her legacy by putting her energy into helping others.
Georgie, 37, said: “Victoria was vivacious and really had her whole life ahead of her.
“She was very sporty and clever and she had just got a new job. It all came completely out of the blue.”
Victoria, from Chichester, was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in August 2021 which progressed to stage four cancer in March 2022.
In blog posts published before her death, she said that she “had to try and live life to the full at every opportunity”, including organising fitness fundraisers such as the first Big Bathe, an annual sea swim in West Wittering, in 2022.
Victoria was also able to marry her husband, Angus, just four weeks before her death, something Georgie said was “very important to them” and “very special that we were all able to be there to celebrate”.
As her cancer progressed, Victoria spent time at St Wilfrid’s, a hospice in Bosham, which Georgie said allowed her to make memories with her sister which would not have been possible in hospital.
She added: “The change was night and day. Hospitals are very lonely places but at the hospice they let us stay the night and play board games and enjoy the beautiful gardens.
“Two days before she died we went for a sea swim in West Wittering.”
Now, two years on from Victoria’s death, Georgie has continued to organise The Big Bathe in memory of her sister.
While booking are closed, swimmers can also take part in a virtual swim through The Big Bathe website. Donations are being taken through their GiveWheel page.
The swim, taking place this Saturday, is in aid of Bowel Cancer UK and St Wilfrid’s and raised over £150,000 in it’s first two years.
Georgie said she is “really proud of what we have done” and wants to raise awareness of bowel cancer and support the charity so they can continue to provide the same care Victoria received.
She said: “Hospices are the silent partners in our community. No one wants to talk about them but they do such important work.
“We are doing this to commemorate Victoria but we also want to raise awareness of the symptoms.”
The Big Bathe takes place on September 14 in West Wittering.
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