Mum Sent Her Cells to Amsterdam — 28 Days Later, She Was Cancer-Free!

A teenager from Halifax has opened up about the heartbreaking moment she found out her mum had cancer, and how it’s pushed her to give back and raise money for a cause that means the world to her. Charlotte Hellowell was just eight years old when her parents sat her and her younger sister down to tell them their mum, Jacquie, had Lymphoma — a type of blood cancer that attacks the immune system.

What followed was a whirlwind of hospital visits, scary words no child should have to hear, and the emotional rollercoaster of watching a parent fight for their life. “I remember she had been ill for a few months with head pain,” Charlotte said. “Then I saw her after the operation — she had a scar from the top of her head to her ear”, reported Yorkshire Live.

Despite the shock, Charlotte says her parents encouraged them to ask questions, never keeping anything hidden. “It wasn’t scary, just a shock seeing what Mum was going through, but nothing was ever a secret.”

Jacquie had to undergo a craniotomy before enduring four rounds of brutal chemotherapy between August and December 2019. At times, she was in hospital for weeks. But through it all, Charlotte remembers the steady support of friends and family who rallied around them. “This was helpful when my mum had appointments,” she said.

Eventually, Jacquie became one of the early patients to receive CAR-T therapy — a cutting-edge treatment where her T-cells were sent off to Amsterdam to be reprogrammed to fight cancer. And amazingly, it worked.

“I told them [the cells] to behave themselves in Amsterdam,” Jacquie joked. “And when they came back, they did their job – in 28 days, they’d got rid of the cancer.” By 2022, Jacquie was declared cancer-free, and she remains in remission. For Charlotte, hearing that her mum was in the clear was a huge relief — and a turning point.

Now 18, Charlotte has signed up for Blood Cancer UK’s Walk of Light, a 5k event where participants light up the night with glowing outfits, all in the name of raising money and awareness. “I wanted to give back to the charity but also raise money in hopes that it could one day help to find a cure,” she said.

She set a modest target of £150 but has already smashed it, raising over £400. “I’m so grateful and can’t thank people enough,” she said. Charlotte will take on her glowing challenge at Manor Heath Park in Halifax on Saturday, March 29.