SHE was a councillor, mayor, GP surgery manager, loving wife and mother.

But perhaps Denise Cloudsdale's greatest legacy is the strength and bravery she showed in the face of adversity.

In 2015, the former mayor of Millom died aged just 58 after an ongoing battle with an extremely rare form of stomach cancer known as pseudomyxoma peritonei.

The disease, which usually starts in the appendix, affects just two in every million people.

Denise was only the third person in the UK to undergo a pioneering multi-organ transplant.

The first operation of this kind was performed on rugby league player Steve Prescott at Basingstoke Hospital in 2013.

Despite the fact the sportsman subsequently died due to complications, he paved the way for further operations of this kind.

In March 2015, Denise went for a consultation at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford and underwent tests to see if she could have the same operation.

Her daughter, Fern Cloudsdale, 26, said: "She passed them all and got a phone call to say that she had a donor.

"At that time she was already in Salford Royal because she was struggling to eat so she was being fed through a tube. She'd lost a lot of weight.

"The transplant was the only hope of her living."

Denise was rushed to Oxford to have the surgery, which lasted 18 hours and involved the transplant of her bowel, kidney, stomach, abdominal wall and pancreas.

Despite the operation being a success, Denise died about 10 weeks after due to a haemorrhage.

Fern added: "It was all fine. She stayed in ICU for about 10 days and when she did wake up she didn't know she'd had the transplant.

"But there were quite a lot of complications afterwards so she was in and out of ICU quite a lot and in and out of theatre.
"She was doing really well at that point. We thought she'd be home in a month but it just didn't happen."

However, three other people who have undergone the same operation have survived.

Just weeks after Denise died, Adam Alderson, 37, from Yorkshire, underwent the same operation and is now leading a full and happy life.

He now forms part of a a valuable support network for Fern and her family.

Fern said: "He's now leading a fantastic life. He's actually getting married in May, I've just been invited to his wedding. He's doing really well."

Fern has also become friends with Linzi Prescott, Steve Prescott's widow, who she credits with giving immense support to her and her father.

Since her mother died, Fern has met Linzi twice and recently joined her for a charity 10k run in March in aid of the Steve Prescott Foundation.

It is this charity which continues to fund research and support those who suffer from this rare form of cancer.

Fern added: "It just shows that if Steve wasn't as brave and determined as he was, the three people who are now living might not have been.

"It gave mum hope that she could lead the life that she wanted to."

Fern will always hold fond memories of her mother, who was a much-loved figure in the community.

Denise was the mayor of Millom in the 1990s and later became the general practice manager of Waterloo House Surgery before she took retirement.

She was just 45 when she was initially diagnosed with the cancer in 2002.

Fern added: "She was just such a strong character, just so independent, so inspirational with how she coped with it.

"She never let it get her down. Obviously, you don't know how strong you are until you've got to go through something like that but she just fought it head on.

"She was just so determined that she was going to come through it all."

It's clear that Denise was an inspiration and an incredibly brave woman with a huge heart.

Despite the sadness Fern feels from losing her mum, she will always be able to count on the support of the Steve Prescott Foundation and recognises the positive effect it has had on her outlook on life.

She added: "I think it makes you look on life differently now, especially when I've gone through it with her and followed her journey for so many years.

"Now I just live life to the full with no regrets. I used to moan about day to day things but they're nothing compared to that."