THE compassion shown to a 42-year-old mum who battled cancer has inspired her daughter to dedicate her future to helping others.

Last year Chelsea Stevens, from Walney, lost her mother to Karen after she had fought the disease for two years.

During her mother's illness Miss Stevens, her 16-year-old brother Cory and the rest of her family were supported by the tireless care staff at St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston.

After witnessing first hand the care and devotion paid to her mum, Miss Stevens decided to go back to college and train to be a carer.

She said: "My mum passed away seven months ago, she was fighting cancer for about two years.

"When she was very poorly towards the end the hospice at home took care of her, they chatted to her, kept her smiling and lifted her spirits. They inspired me to go into care."

Miss Stevens, 22, currently works in retail but plans to look into college courses that will help her achieve her goal of working in care.

During her illness, one of the things Mrs Stevens wanted for her daughter was to be happy, and find a job that she was passionate about and proud of.

Miss Stevens said: "I always wanted to do something that helps others, the way St Mary's helped mum I saw how rewarding it was. It wasn't just a job for them. It made me want to go and do something that makes a difference. My mum wanted me to do something that I love."

St Mary's offers at-home care for patients like Mrs Stevens who don't want to be admitted to the hospice or hospital. Miss Stevens said her mum wanted to be close to her family at home during her illness.

She said: "She was the life and soul of any party, she was there for anyone, when she was poorly she didn't ask for anything. She said 'I'm not brave, I'm just going to get through it'.

"She didn't want to be in hospital, she wanted to be at home with her own family."

After her mother died, Miss Stevens and her family wanted to do something to raise money for the hospice.

She said: "I started off with a small idea but I just wanted to do it. I set myself a target of £1,800. We had a family meeting and everyone threw their ideas into the hat."

After brainstorming with members of her family, she took on the challenge of arranging a fundraising party.

Miss Stevens said: "I knew that I wanted to raise some money for the hospice. When she passed away I was trying to think of something to keep myself going.

"We did a charity night which raised £3,800. I booked the Soccer Bar and sold 220 tickets within two days."

"We had an auction and a raffle, we had an amazing response. I made a speech which I've never done before. I said to everyone that the hospice only gets 22 per cent of their money through the NHS.

"From what we donated they could pay for 31 home visits."

In addition to this incredible sum, the family also raised £1,200 from donations made at Mrs Stevens' funeral.

The £5,000 was recently donated to St Mary's and will go towards providing the help and support that meant so much to Miss Stevens.

A spokesman from the hospice said: "Thank you to Chelsea and her family who have raised over £5,000 for our Hospice at Home Service. Chelsea’s exceptional efforts were in loving memory of her mother who sadly passed away last year.

"We shared Chelsea’s achievement on Facebook and this has reached nearly 14,000 people, there have been many shares and comments, there is so much love and support for Chelsea and her family."

Miss Stevens was amazed with how the hospice was able to make every penny donated count. With the money she raised the hospice will be able to provide for dozens of patients, and keep its cars on the road.

The spokesman said: "Through Chelsea and her family’s fundraising efforts this amazing figure of £5,000 can be converted into Hospice at Home care. Each visit costs £160, this enables over 31 visits to be funded, the approximate cost per patient is £1,228 enabling four patients to be completely cared for. The average fuel cost is £1.50 per visit, this lets us cover petrol costs for over 3,333 visits.

"We hope it can provide some comfort to Chelsea and her family that their efforts and thought will enable patients and their loved ones to have Hospice at Home care too. St Mary’s is a charity and though we provide free care it is not free for us to provide – and that’s where we rely on our wonderful community to help. Hospice at Home gives our community a choice when it really matters. Many people in their final days of life would choose to die peacefully and with dignity in their own home, surrounded by their loved ones. Because of people like Chelsea we can continue to give this choice, supported by our wonderful team of staff."

Miss Stevens is hoping to enrol in a caring course by the autumn. Until then she is going to carry on fundraising for the hospice.

She said: "We're all going to do the Coniston to Barrow walk in May, there are about 12 of us doing it together."

To find out more about St Mary's visit its Facebook page.

Read more about the inspiring work going on at St Mary's:

The hottest event in town comes to the Coronation Hall courtesy of St Mary's

Thousands has been raised for charity thanks to a festive recycling scheme