Terminally ill mother works on ‘living list’ while finding most of her remaining time

A terminally ill mother ticks off her ‘living list’ and makes the most of what time she has left by hiking in the Alps, crowdsurfing with Joe Wicks and adopting a baby boy. Roisin Pelan, 42, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2014 and given just three years to live in January 2018.

After defying the odds to outlive her prognosis, Roisin created a ‘living bucket list’ of everything she wanted to do before she died. She says she hates the idea of ​​a to-do list and that a living list was a “much more fun idea.”

Despite ticking off a number of goals, she still has “a lot” she wants to do – including “showing up for an Oasis reunion so I can go to their gig”. She hopes to camp in a tree house, go to New York for Christmas and swim in Bora Bora.

Roisin, a small business owner, from Preston, Lancashire, said: “I made a ‘living list’ after I was diagnosed – it’s a lot more fun than a bucket list. I’ve already managed to tick off so many things – I can’t even remember everything.

“I’ve written a children’s book, hiked in the Alps, the Highlands and Yorkshire. I helped set up a charity with 20 others – there are only 13 of us now.

“I have my list on my wall. I’m really into manifestation and things like that right now – so I made it into a vision board.”

Roisin was first diagnosed with secondary breast cancer on 26 May 2014 – and was told by her oncologist that it was incurable. At the time, she was pregnant with her first child, 10-year-old Ivy.

Over 10 years, Roisin had more than 60 rounds of chemotherapy – and took five types of drugs including vinorelbine and paclitaxel. She also believes that herbal remedies – such as vitamin B12, CBD oil and spirulina – have helped her physical and mental health.

At the time of her diagnosis, Roisin and her husband Michael, 39, an illustrator, were already planning to adopt a second child. But her oncologist couldn’t give the go-ahead to social services until he was more confident in her prognosis.

“I was approved to adopt before I was diagnosed,” she said. “We were expecting a match, but after I was diagnosed with cancer, the oncologist said it wouldn’t be possible.

“All my treatment happened – carboplatin, taxotere, paclitaxel, surgery and radiotherapy. I did everything I could to help myself naturally with herbal remedies, including hyperbaric chamber therapy – which seemed to – a submarine”.

In May 2019, five years after her diagnosis, Roisin was transferred to another oncologist who was pleased with her progress. Social services got permission to let Roisin and Michael adopt – and she found out while walking up Rivington Pike.

She said: “I was walking up a mountain when social services rang. I didn’t hear them right and ran all the way – only to hear them say they approved me for adoption.”

Roisin brought six-month-old Bill home in September 2019 and continued to write her ‘living list’. In the five years since then, Roisin has achieved a number of goals – her favorite being the small business she started, Fighty Pants, a gift shop for people with cancer.

With her condition incurable, Roisin will never be able to finish her chemotherapy. But her cancer status is “no evidence of disease” – meaning her disease is well under control. As long as she’s able to “proceed,” she fully intends to complete her list, which is expanding every day.

“I started a small business, targeting people going through cancer treatment,” she said. “I wrote a children’s book – called Shiny Happy Horace.

“I did a trip to the south of France, but I still want to do a trip to Canada and New Zealand in a caravan. I want to take the glass train to Switzerland – and I’m trying to get Oasis to get back together so I can go to their reunion gig. It’s great to be doing so well.”

Things on Roisin’s living list that she completed:

Starting a small business

Writing a children’s book

Road trip in the south of France

A 100km ride through the Highlands – led by Emma Willis for Coppafeel

Tour of Mont Blanc

Hiking through Yorkshire

Forming a charity for people with secondary breast cancer

Crowdsurfing with Joe Wicks

Things left to do

Swim in Bora Bora

Drive across Canada and New Zealand in an RV

Go to New York at Christmas time

Take a glass train through Switzerland

Camping in a tree house

Watching Oasis in concert