Jun 28 2012 by Rob Pattinson, Ormskirk Advertiser
THE parents of a ?model student? who lost a 10-year battle with skin cancer are urging others not to put their lives at risk for a suntan.
Rhiannon Bill tragically passed away a day after her 25th birthday following a brave decade-long battle with malignant melanoma.
And while her parents are still unsure why their daughter ? who was not a sun-worshipper and didn?t use sunbeds ? was stuck by the aggressive cancer, they are sending out a warning to others of the risks of sun exposure.
Rhiannon?s dad Des, a deacon at St Anne?s RC Church, said: ?We?re not 100% certain how she got this, but it?s a real killer. People don?t realise it?s not just your skin, melanoma can affect other organs. If reading this makes one person think twice and put on cream before they or their children go into the sun then her story will have made a difference.?
The former St Anne?s and St Bede?s pupil first noticed something was wrong at the age of 15 in June 2002.
Mum Joan said: ?It began with the most insignificant thing ? something on her scalp that kept catching when she brushed her hair. We went to the GP and they removed it and sent it for tests. We couldn?t believe it when it came back as melanoma.?
Rhiannon underwent surgery to remove an area of her scalp and had a skin graft from her leg to cover it. With the support of her school she took her GCSEs the following summer and went on to St John Rigby Sixth Form College.
After a gap year working at Edge Hill University, she started an English Language degree at Bangor University, becoming involved with the volunteering service working with underprivileged youngsters in the area.
Coming home after her first year, the family were overjoyed when she was given the five-year all-clear by doctors in June 2007. But only a month later, she discovered a lump in her neck. The melanoma had returned, and doctors delivered the chilling news she had three malignant tumours in her lymph nodes.
Radical neck dissection surgery left Rhiannon with a 12-inch scar from her ear to her collar bone to her chin. But she was determined to prove doctors wrong who told her to forget about university.
Joan said: ?It really upset her. She was able to go back a year later and graduated with a 2:1 in 2010 and was so pleased.?
By this time Rhiannon ? a ?true Blue? Evertonian who shared a season ticket with sister Helen ? had found love with boyfriend Joe and returned to Bangor to start a two year part-time masters degree in Linguistics in September that year. But the following summer, she started having headaches and being sick.
Joan said: ?They found a tumour the size of a golf ball in her brain. She had surgery in October last year but afterwards wasn?t recovering from radiotherapy. Then in March we found it had returned in her brain and also spread to her liver, it was devastating.?
The family was told about a drug that might have given her another 12 months, but tragically by the time results of tests to see if it would be effective came back positive, she was in Queenscourt Hospice and too ill for treatment.
Des said: ?We were told we had months but in the end it was only weeks. She had been planning a big party for her 25th birthday but she went downhill so fast.?
Rhiannon was brought home on April 19, where her loved ones sang happy birthday and celebrated with balloons and a cake. The following morning she died at home as she had wanted. At her funeral on April 27, more than 450 people packed into St Anne?s Church.
The family has received more than 500 letters and cards, and the School of Linguistics at Bangor University has now created the Rhiannon Bill prize for best final year undergraduate dissertation in her name.
More than ?8,500 has been raised in her name, including ?4,000 donated online for Cancer Research UK and Queenscourt Hospice, and Joan said: ?She would be gobsmacked by the donations that have come in. We want to thank all those who have prayed for her and support us, the doctors, nurses and other medical staff who cared for her. We have met some fantastic people and at least we had a chance to say all the things we wanted to say to her.?
Her proud dad said: ?People have described Rhiannon as inspirational, fun, wise and loving. Her illness gave her a different outlook on life and she had an ability to make people feel better about things. She battled through adversity and flourished ? she really did enjoy life and Joe was a real rock who was always at her side. Bishop Tom Williams said to me she will always be a golden thread running through our lives and that really sums it up. She had a real twinkle in her eye and the world is a poorer place without her.?
To donate to Cancer Research UK in Rhiannon?s name visit bit.ly/NJ5pGb, for Queenscourt visit bit.ly/LdRvJ3
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