A teenage fab four responded magnificently after having their hearts broken when their mum shared the awful news that she had cancer.
The brothers wanted to do something to thank the people helping her and went on to raise £3,000 for two specialist services at Singleton Hospital.
Single mum Meinir Morgan, from Birchgrove, was on a Florida holiday with her four boys last year when she discovered a lump in her breast.
“After we came home I went to my GP and within two days I was seen in the Breast Care Unit at Singleton,” she said.
“They told me they were 95 per cent certain it was breast cancer. During November I went through a lot of tests and scans and then I was formally diagnosed with HER2+ cancer.
“I waited until I had my treatment plan the week before Christmas to tell the boys.
“Having a plan meant I could lay out exactly what was coming rather than just tell them about the bad news in November with no plans or dates for anything that was happening.
“It was the worst day of my life. I broke four hearts that day. As a single mum and their only constant, for me to have cancer wrecked their worlds. It was horrible news for them to have to deal with.”
Meinir started her treatment on New Year’s Day, with four months of chemotherapy followed by surgery and radiotherapy.
She also started a year-long course of immunotherapy in January and will be on long-term medication for at least the next 10 years.
“Chemo was rough, and I was hospitalised twice because of it,” Meinir said. “It was so hard on the boys to see me so ill. I lost my hair, but we made light of it with lots of jokes about wigs and colours and styles.”
Brothers Lewis, aged 18, Rhys, aged 17, Ioan, aged 15, and 13-year-old Iestyn, did not wait long before deciding they would fundraise.
“It was almost instant,” said Lewis. “We thought, we’ve just got to crack on. We’ve got to do our best to support our mum.
“We thought the best way to do that was to raise money for the people who were taking care of her and making sure she was getting the right treatment and getting it quickly.”
With the support of their school, Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe, they hosted a bake sale. They also ran the Cancer Research Race for Life 5k event and hosted an afternoon tea with one of their mum’s friends.
On top of all this they set up a JustGiving page. Meinir recalls how Lewis was worried that setting £500 as their target would make them look silly if they failed to raise that much.
But they needn’t have worried because they absolutely smashed it, raising a grand total of £3,150.
The family have now visited Singleton Hospital to hand over cheques for £1,500 each to the Chemotherapy Day Unit and the Breast Care Unit. The remaining £150 will be donated to Cancer Research UK.
Meinir said she was immensely proud of her sons. “I always am, but this is another level,” she added. “When they were facing the worst news and scared of what the future held, they decided that this was a positive focus for them, while also sitting A-levels and GCSEs.
“It’s been the most challenging year, but they have been awesome and surrounded by great friends and support from the school. My thanks to everyone who has supported them in the fundraising and us as a family.”
Swansea Bay Health Charity’s community support charity officer Cathy Stevens said: “We are absolutely delighted by the incredible effort the boys have put into their fundraising – and just look at the outcome.
“Throughout the entire journey, they kept their mum at the heart of everything they did. The result is a truly amazing achievement. Da iawn.”
