Cancer battler Toni Hunn feels ‘just like a princess’ as she says I do in hospital (From Essex County Standard)

Cancer battler Toni Hunn feels ‘just like a princess’ as she says I do in hospital

7:00pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in News

WHEN Toni Hunn found out she had terminal cancer, there was only one thing she wanted to do – marry the father of her child.

Yesterday Toni, 42, got her wish and walked down the aisle at Colchester’s Essex County Hospital with fiance Mark Murphy.

It is the first time a wedding ceremony has been held at the hospital chapel.

The couple only got engaged at Colchester General Hospital’s duck pond on August 14 – the day after they discovered Toni had cancer.

Toni, now Mrs Murphy, wore a simple floaty white dress and carried a pink and cream bouquet during the ceremony in front of close family and friends.

She said: “I just feel like a princess.

“Everything about Colchester is historic and we are going to be a part of that now.

“Mark was there when I got the news and he has been at my side ever since.”

Toni, of St Osyth, had been admitted to hospital for blood tests after doctors discovered she had a blood clot, which would not go away.

The Dumont Avenue resident said: “I don’t want to waste any more of my life.

“I said to Mark ‘can’t we make a go of it again?’. We just said ‘shall we just get married?’.”

It is not the first time the family has faced cancer.

Toni and Mark’s daughter Jordan was diagnosed with cancer of the eye aged only 18 months.

Despite successfully battling the disease, Jordan was diagnosed with cancer for a second time when doctors told her she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma on Boxing Day 2010.

Jordan, 11, is now in remission and could be given the all-clear as soon as April.

But doctors have told Toni they cannot pinpoint where her cancer originated from and diagnosed it as terminal.

She said: “I’m going to keep fighting.

“They are treating patients more quickly now and getting more positive results and I hope I’m a part of that.”

The pair are now living at Essex County Hospital’s Jeff-erson Ward while Toni undergoes six months of intensive chemotherapy treatment and doctors keep an eye on her blood clot.

After the ceremony yesterday, the couple and guests tucked into a meal at the hospital and enjoyed a slice of wedding cake.

Mark, also 42, and a builder, has given up work to look after his wife.

He said: “We should have got married a long time ago. We were engaged for ten years and we split up for four because of Jordan’s illness and we were trying to cope.

“After we decided to get married, I went straight to London to get the ring and put it back on her finger.

“I have been at her side ever since and will look after her, full time.”

The couple are hoping to enjoy a few days away for a honeymoon when Toni gets better.