05
Nov
‘It’s like her camera stops the pain’, says mother of Harrogate teen with rare cancer
The mother of a Harrogate teen, whose daughter has just weeks to live, has given an insight into what life has been like since the diagnosis.
Liz Hatton, 17, was told she had a desmoplastic small round cell tumour – a sarcoma so rare only 12 cases are diagnosed per year in the UK – in February.
Her mother, Victoria, previously told the Stray Ferret the condition is so rare and aggressive that little is known about it and there is insufficient funding or recognition to find a treatment.
But this has not stopped Liz from fulfilling her dreams as a photographer.
Last month, Liz was invited to photograph recipients of an investiture at Windsor Castle, where she met the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Today we caught up with Victoria on what Liz has been up to since. She said:
We’ve had loads on! Liz has photographed The Royal Ballet, Six the musical and Michael McIntyre. She went to the premiere of the film Venom: The Last Dance too.
The seventh floor of the BBC was shut down so she could photograph drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race UK. It was amazing; she had people carrying her camera, lighting, all the equipment. She absolutely loves Drag Race.
Liz also photographed two models who are signed to Storm Models agency, and spent the day with top photographer Gareth Cattermole, who has shot the likes of Taylor Swift and Lionel Messi.
Victoria published Liz’s bucket list in May, which included everything she wanted to photograph before the end of her life.
She has ticked off all but three, Victoria said, and she is still hoping to make those happen:
She wanted to photograph a festival – that was on her bucket list. We’re thinking that’s going to be a gig now, though. She was meant to photograph Leeds Fest in August, but she was too poorly after having a blood transfusion that day.
Liz would also like to help film a movie – that one is proving a bit tricky – as well as do a shoot at a fashion house.
Liz is set to shoot a circus school in London next week, as well as the London Air Ambulance.
She is also spending two days with portrait photographer David Suh, who is flying over from Los Angeles to the UK to work with Liz.
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‘We don’t have a guaranteed tomorrow’
The former Harrogate Grammar School student was diagnosed with cancer five weeks after complaining of abdominal pain and bloating.
Her parents took her to A&E, where doctors initially believed she may have ovarian cysts. But further scans revealed tumours in both of Liz’s ovaries, her liver and a larger mass in her omentum and peritoneum.
A treatment for the condition has never been found and only 15% of those diagnosed survive beyond five years.
Victoria said her family’s world was “torn apart” at the time.
She set up a fundraiser shortly after to raise money for Liz’s treatment. However, Victoria last month told the Stray Ferret her cancer has become chemo-resistant.
The money raised via the GoFundMe Page, which has more than doubled its £25,000 target, is now used to make Liz’s dreams a reality.
Victoria today said:
Because of people donating, we don’t have to think twice about being able to take the offers she’s given. The donations have made this all possible and they are enabling her dreams.
The Stray Ferret asked Victoria how she and Liz, who was asleep at the time of our call, find light in a dark situation.
Victoria told us:
We both just look forward to the next thing she’s got on. It’s harder being at home because you have the time to think about it.
But her camera stops her thinking about the cancer – it’s like it stops the pain.
It’s difficult to know how long she has left, and how long she will be well enough to keep taking these opportunities. So, why wouldn't we take the opportunities whilst we can?
Everyone wants their child’s dreams to come true. We don’t have a guaranteed tomorrow, but we just focus on what she has got on next.
Liz and the Hatton family with Prince and Princess of Wales. Credit: Kensington Palace
We also asked Victoria how Liz’s diagnosis has changed her outlook on life as a parent. She told the Stray Ferret:
We just have no regrets now. Don’t leave what you can do today until tomorrow – prioritise what is important.
Liz is so motivated even when she feels so unwell. When she shot the Royal Ballet, she was so poorly that day. She’d just been put on new medication, which was making her eyes close, so she was struggling to keep them open. But I saw her photos the other day and I just said, ‘they are so incredible’ – and that was with her eyes mostly closed!
Victoria cited a novel she recently read by author Sophie Kinsella, who has an aggressive form of brain cancer. The author describes life with her condition as "normal plus".
That’s how we try to approach each day now. We ask ourselves, ‘what are we going to do to make each as good as we can?’
For example, if Liz wants party food for dinner, we go straight out and get party food for dinner.
The Hatton family.
Liz has weeks to live, Victoria told the Stray Ferret, but she said the family does not waste time dwelling on what they can’t change.
She said they are "so grateful" for the opportunities Liz has been – and still is being – given. They are way beyond the dreams she had before cancer, Victoria added.
Victoria wanted to thank those who have donated to the GoFundMe – which you can still donate to here – as well as Liz’s medical team:
Without Professor Bob and her community nurses Jilly and Gabby, none of it would be possible. They liaise with community nurses in London to make sure Liz has got all her medication when we go down to London. They encourage her to fulfil her dreams.
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