![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/26b1124dab13928051d07b9a9db1e47d.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nLouise Beevers was told she had breast cancer while pregnant with her fourth child. A month after her daughter was born, she was told the disease had spread to her lungs and was terminal. But the 42-year-old single mum says she has never felt as mentally well, which she puts down to an NHS counselling service.<\/p>\n
Louise has bought the pens and stationery with which to write her final letters to her children.<\/p>\n
“I even have wax seals,” she tells me. “There is something special about a handwritten note. It is so personal. You have written it with your own hand. You have made the time. You have touched that paper.<\/p>\n
“But I will only write them when I am given the final countdown from my oncologist. Writing them will be the beginning of the end.”<\/p>\n
On the wall of the living room in this family home, set in a quaint Lincolnshire village near Gainsborough, are professionally taken photographs, arranged in a diamond, of Louise’s four children.<\/p>\n
“The first and strongest thought is my children will grow up without a mother,” says Louise. “That was the most prolific thought that went through my head when I was told I was terminal.”<\/p>\n
Her children, who are aged between two and 19, are aware of the diagnosis.<\/p>\n
In January 2023, Louise found a lump in her breast, which doctors initially put down to her pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Four months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in the September \u2013 a month after her youngest was born \u2013 she was told she was terminally ill.<\/p>\n
Bromley, the family’s rescue cockapoo, is sprawled across Louise’s lap. In the corner of the room are children’s toys, including a Floor Lava board game.<\/p>\n
Louise, and her family, are navigating a path no one chooses to tread.<\/p>\n
“As my psychologist told me, I can’t change what has happened,” she says. “But I can choose how I handle it. It’s been a very difficult journey. We maintain a transparency around my diagnosis and conversations are always welcomed.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Louise’s younger children are now aged two and five [BBC]<\/p>\n
Today, Louise is calm.<\/p>\n
“It’s taken time to get where I am,” she admits. “I screamed when the oncologist told me I was terminal; it meant I was not going to see my children grow up.<\/p>\n
“I got home and we all collapsed on the lawn and cried. I spent the whole of the next day sobbing. But the following day I thought, I can spend what is left of my life like this or I can accept this is happening and make the best of it.”<\/p>\n
During the early stages of her diagnosis, Louise was invited to complete a wellbeing questionnaire, which showed \u2013 to quote her \u2013 that she “needed a bit of help”.<\/p>\n
She was referred to the East Midlands Cancer Alliance for psycho-social counselling.<\/p>\n
Alongside this, Louise has undergone five rounds of chemotherapy, as well as radiotherapy. She was due a sixth in 2023 but declined, believing it was to be her last Christmas.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to be able to enjoy it with my family without feeling ill from chemotherapy,” she explains.<\/p>\n
Louise also requires an injection every 12 weeks to force her body into an early menopause.<\/p>\n
“This was needed because the doctors think the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone were feeding my cancer,” she says.<\/p>\n
Louise has a CT scan with contrast \u2013 a dye which gives a clearer picture of her cancer \u2013 every three to four months. Her next is due in February.<\/p>\n
So far, she has remained stable, but she knows her cancer is likely to mutate fast.<\/p>\n
“You will never quash the anxiety, especially around scan time,” says Louise.<\/p>\n
“But the counselling equips you with coping mechanisms to logically manage that.<\/p>\n
“It has enabled me to live the best life I possibly can with the limited expectancy that I have.<\/p>\n
“It’s an invaluable service that has given me a positive outlook, even given the dire situation.”<\/p>\n
Louise says there has been seismic shift in her mindset.<\/p>\n
“I’m able to handle very difficult situations a lot calmer and I have a very positive mindset now,” she says.<\/p>\n
Back to basics<\/p>\n
Louise, an assistant practice manager at the village GP surgery, where she uses her own experiences to help soothe others facing similar ordeals, says living with a terminal illness has forced her to take stock.<\/p>\n
“I worked with a psychologist who took my life apart,” she says. “He took it the absolute bare basics and we uncovered what morals and values I hold dear to myself, and we then worked at building my life back up to enable me to live my life. I found it weirdly enjoyable.<\/p>\n
“I absolutely put the length of time I have survived so far down to the counselling service that I received.<\/p>\n
“I am also in the best mental state I have ever been in, even with terminal cancer.”<\/p>\n
Louise has raised concerns about the service she has benefited from moving to a new provider.<\/p>\n
The BBC put her concerns to the NHS, but a spokesperson insisted the service would remain effective and of a high quality.<\/p>\n
The front door opens and slams shut. Her son has arrived home from school.<\/p>\n
Louise says the thought of leaving her children prematurely keeps her awake.<\/p>\n
It is the only time the smile wanes.<\/p>\n
“There have been situations where I have needed my mum,” she says.<\/p>\n
“I know there will be times when my children need me, but they won’t be able to call me.”<\/p>\n
Bromley nuzzles into her.<\/p>\n
“When I was really poorly, having my chemotherapy, he would go to my bedroom with me,” says Louise, massaging the dog’s floppy ears.<\/p>\n
“He was protecting me. He wouldn’t let anyone anywhere near me \u2013 not even my mum. Dogs are so in tune.”<\/p>\n
Life-changing<\/p>\n
Louise is pragmatic; she knows the cancer will claim her life prematurely, but she hopes sharing her story will help others facing similar ordeals.<\/p>\n
“Give counselling a try,” she says. “You will be surprised. It could change your life, like it has mine, and make your remaining days so much more pleasurable.”<\/p>\n
Louise reaches for her phone and flicks through happy memories.<\/p>\n
She stops on one showing a simple white, wooden box, with words on the front. She tells me she has one for each of her children.<\/p>\n
They will house her final letters and cards for their key birthdays.<\/p>\n
On the front of the box are the words: “I may not be there in body but my spirit lives on in you through the love and memories we have created together.”<\/p>\n
For now, the paper and pens remain in their cellophane wrapping.<\/p>\n
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC’s Action Line website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds<\/a>, watch the latest episode of Look North<\/a> or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Download the BBC News app from the App Store<\/a> for iPhone and iPad or Google Play<\/a> for Android devices<\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Louise Beevers was told she had breast cancer while pregnant with her fourth child. A month after her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[11026,49,48,7714,2770,84,131156,183692,21227],"class_list":["post-445022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-breast-cancer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cancer","tag-children","tag-health","tag-louise","tag-louise-beevers","tag-terminal-cancer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}