My best friend planned her wedding in five days

“Alana was just… everything you’d want in a best friend. She had an incredible sense of humour. Her laugh was contagious — she could make any situation better.

At the end of 2023, she had what seemed like a really bad flu. It was that time of year when everything is going around, and it didn’t seem unusual. But she couldn’t shake it off.

She went to the GP but was told it was the back end of a chest infection — nothing to worry about.

By early February, Alana still wasn’t better. I remember walking next to her and realising she was about 20 metres behind me. She was out of breath and just couldn’t keep up.

The next morning, Alana’s partner Charlie messaged to say he’d had to call 999 in the night. Alana had been admitted to hospital and didn’t leave there for the next six months. We found out she had acute myeloid leukaemia, a type of blood cancer — and that it was aggressive.

Alana went through three months of chemotherapy and went into remission. We had about four weeks that summer where things felt almost normal again. She even graduated from university with a first. But in September, the cancer came back.

Alana went back into hospital and started treatment again, including a clinical trial in Manchester. They were trying different drug combinations and even different diets.

Throughout all of it, we all stayed as positive as we could. It was always “when this is all over, we’ll do this” and “when you’re better, we’ll go there.” Alana use to speak like that, as well.

But again, the cancer came back.

She went through more aggressive chemo — a really intense course. But by July, we were told there was nothing more they could do.

Alana was very small and petite, she was someone you looked at and just wanted to wrap up and protect and look after. But the courage and bravery she showed was unbelievable. Honestly, she’s my hero.

While Alana was going through treatment, I did a sponsored walk from London to Brighton with colleagues. While we were walking, she FaceTimed us. She sent voice notes encouraging us. Even then, Alana was the one lifting us up. That's just who she was.

We played so many games when she was in hospital — Uno, The Traitors, Monopoly Deal. She loved games and never lost her competitiveness.

One of my favourite memories together is a trip we took to Budapest. From the moment we landed, we didn’t stop laughing. We barely saw the city — we just sat in bars and laughed the whole time. We reminisced about that trip right until the end.

When we were told there was nothing more the doctors could do, Alana and Charlie decided to get married. Charlie was the light of her life.

They planned it in five days.

It was emotional, of course, but it was also just a really beautiful day. Alana was exhausted, but she powered through. Even if she’d been getting married in different circumstances, I don’t think she’d have done it any differently. I think it was her perfect wedding, and everyone just wanted to make it perfect for both of them.

Towards the end of September, Alana started to decline. We stayed with her as much as we could. And in October she passed away, surrounded by people who loved her.

If there’s one thing I think Alana would want people to know, it’s this:

Trust your gut.

Alana went to the GP twice and was told it was just flu or a chest infection. No tests were done. She knew something wasn’t right. Even though we all know how stretched the NHS is, if something feels wrong, don’t ignore it.

Fundraising became really important to me after everything. We raised nearly £10,000 through the walk, and more through a half marathon afterwards.

Part of it was doing something for Alana. But also, in a strange way, it was about putting myself through something hard — because of everything she went through.

If Alana's story can help even one person — whether that’s recognising symptoms earlier, pushing for answers, or just feeling less alone — then that’s something she would have wanted.”