Woman who went to dentist with 'bad toothache' given months to live

When Laura Parker went to the dentist, she believed she had an infection in her gums. The 35-year-old had been suffering from a severe tootheache in her wisdom tooth.

Whn the pain persisted she ended up visiting her GP, where she received the devastating news that it was something far worse. Laura was diagnosed with leukaemia last December and began treatment soon after.

Her close friend Becky Biddulph told the Liverpool Echo: "She went in with a toothache and she didn't feel very well. She thought she had an infection in the gums. But she kept bruising a lot easier, and the bruises weren't going away.

"It was quite minor things, and it was only because she really didn't feel very well that she pushed for the GP appointment. That's where she found out the unfortunate news. She had three rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and it seemed to be going okay. She responded quite well to it. Then things took a really quick turn for the worst. It turned out that the cancer had spread into her bones and she was given her terminal diagnosis.

"The cancer was so aggressive that the tumour in a bone had grown to the size of a size three football. She ended up having that amputated in August. She's now on end-of-life care and I've just taken each and every day as it comes."

Laura, from Wallasey, was told by doctors she had a few months to live. Ms Biddulph said she was stunned by how her friend has responded. For the latest analysis of the biggest stories, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here

She said: "Laura's one of the most down to earth people you ever meet. She's so generous and so loving. After she received the diagnosis, she's been nothing but positive. She doesn't know when her last day is going to be with how aggressive her illness is. While everyone's been upset, she's been an actual ray of sunshine throughout all of it. She comes in to work quite often and has a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. The running joke is us going, ,my God, Laura, you look better than what we all do."

Ms Biddulph hosted a 24-hour clubathon for her friend where they work together at the Soccer Dome, a dance based workout done in the dark with disco lights and glowsticks. This was followed by a family fun day. All the money from this will go to the Blood Cancer UK charity.

Ms Biddulph said: "I'd seen so many cases of children being diagnosed with leukaemia, so when Laura was diagnosed, I was taken aback. I then found out that blood cancer is in the top five most diagnosed cancers across the whole.

"It was a huge shock as Laura's 35 herself. That's why we came up with the idea of the clubathon in order to raise awareness, raise funds and get Laura's story shared as much as possible. It was supposed to be a few instructors trying to raise a little bit of money, and it's turned into a massive community. None of us are athletes. We're just normal people getting together, driven by Laura's inspiration."

You can find out more about Laura's JustGiving fundraiser by clicking here.

Join the WalesOnline WhatsApp community

WalesOnline has launched a new breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community. From the biggest court stories to the latest traffic updates, weather warnings and breaking news, it's a simple way to stay up to date with what's happening in Wales.

Want to join? All you have to do is click on this link, select 'Join Community' and you're in. We will not spam your feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily.

If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group'. We occasionally treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can read our Privacy Notice here.

Join our WhatsApp community here