‘We cried together and dealt with it all together – we shook the whole family’
Left to right: Amelia with her partner Owen, Katelyn and her partner Matty.(Image: Katelyn Ellis)
Two young cousins diagnosed with cancer just two weeks apart are now raising funds for the cancer unit and charity which have supported them through months of gruelling treatments. Katelyn Ellis was just 22 when surgery to investigate suspected Endometriosis revealed she had ovarian cancer.
The devastating discovery marked the start of a long, painful series of treatments and operations to try to halt the cancer’s progress – treatment that is continuing more than a year later – while also leaving the whole of the Anlaby family heartbroken. And just four weeks after receiving her own diagnosis, the family was torn apart once more when Katelyn’s cousin Amelia Ehlert was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, after doctors investigated a lump on her neck.
Amelia, who was 19 at the time, endured 12 rounds of chemotherapy and is now, thankfully in remission. The close cousins revealed how they have supported each other through the pain, heartache and dark days – even losing their hair at the same time as a result of the chemotherapy – and how they are now channelling their efforts into thanking those who supported them.
This Saturday, January 31, they are hosting a fundraising day at the New Griffin Pub on Anlaby Road, Hull, to raise funds for HEY Endo (Hull and East Yorkshire) Support Group and Wishh Charity, which can send funds raised directly to the Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Unit at Castle Hill Hospital.
From 2pm a packed itinerary includes a bouncy castle, DJ, snowcone and candyfloss makers, tombola, a huge raffle, bingo, a rugby shirt auction, face paints, a food van, live singers and karaoke fun.
Ahead of the event, Katelyn told how she will have to deal with cancer for the rest of her life, taking a cocktail of tablets every day to hopefully keep it at bay. She has also had to come to terms with the removal of both her ovaries, limiting her chances of becoming a mother. However, her 17-year-old sister Rosie has made the most selfless gesture – offering some of her own eggs to be used in IVF.
Katelyn, who was a nursing assistant at Hull Royal Infirmary before treatment began and is now looking to return to work said: “It’s easier for me to tell you what organs I do have left to be honest, I’ve had that many operations. I went in for endometreosis investigative surgery in August 2024 – I woke up and they basically told me there and then I had ovarian cancer.
“I was told it was only stage 1 so I needed a bigger operation that October, but then I was told they couldn’t get it all out. It had advanced to stage 4 in three months. I had six rounds of chemo and another four surgeries. I didn’t deal it with very well at first – I don’t think anyone would. I’ve lost my lymph nodes, appendix, both ovaries, half my bowel and part of my stomach.
“I have come to terms with it but it did take a long time and many tears and anxiety. Sometimes it does still affect me now but not as often anymore. I got through it through Matty [partner] really, he was my shoulder to cry on and my reassurance through it all.
“I always wanted to be a mum and it was absolutely devastating, but to have Matty stay by me was just amazing. I actually gave Matty the option to leave at the time, his response was ‘why would I?’. Matty and I have been together almost two years. We hadn’t been together long at all when I was first diagnosed, but he’s been through it all. We were best friends for 3 1/2 years before we got together – he’s my rock.
“Luckily, I fought to keep my womb and there is still a chance for IVF in the future. My sister Rosie is 17 and when she was 16, she told me I could have some of her eggs.”
Amelia was officially diagnosed two weeks after Katelyn.
Katelyn said: “We’ve always been really close – we both shook the full family really. When Amelia was diagnosed we all went through it again. We have such a big family and nothing like this has happened before, especially so young. We’ve been through it all together.
“Two of our rounds of chemo was on the same ward on the same day. It was like a family meeting.
“We lost our hair at the same time. As we’re under 25 we both got a wig provided by the Little Princess Trust. We both had long hair, so when we started to lose it we both cut it and donated it to the Little Princess Trust and raised money for the TYA. There were a lot of tears. We both lost our eye brows and eye lashes as well – it was everything all at once, but we cried together and dealt with it all together.”
Amelia: “It’s been unusual and comforting to have someone so close to me to go through this with me. I had a lump on my neck in February 2024 but was told it was a viral thing – when I went back in September I was sent for tests and it came back that I had Hodgkins Lymphoma, a blood cancer which affects the lymph nodes. I had the chemo and I’ve been in remission since March 31 last year, which has been a big relief.
“Hopefully this weekend will be a big success. I used to work at McDonald’s full time but now I’m in remission I’m looking for something new to do.”
While Amelia has now been in remission for 10 months, Katelyn has to takes tablets daily for the rest of her life to stop her cancer from spreading further. Surgery and chemo can’t rid her of all traces of the cancer, which remains on her back and kidneys. She said: “They are confident the tablets will keep it at bay so after a year and a half off work I want to go back. I’d rather get back into a routine.”
This weekend’s fundraiser will see friends, family and all comers join together for a special day to say thank you to those who have supported them both.
Katelyn said: “The TYA (Teenage and Young Adult Unit) at Castle Hill were amazing. They planned days out for us, they would ring us, come to all of our appointments. If you’re under 25 you have chemo on their ward, where they have their own kitchen that’s always filled with snacks.
“Charlene Kent, the TYA Unit’s Youth Support Coordinator, organised a girl’s graduation at the unit and she organised for us to have the whole of a Cineworld room to ourselves to watch Christmas films and have popcorn. So we’re basically raising money for them, and for HEY Endo – the endometriosis charity in Hull. We want to give back to them. We’ve had amazing support from them.”
The fundraising day runs from 2pm until late at the New Griffin Pub, Anlaby Road, Hull. Tickets are £2, with under-16s entering for free.