Bittersweet wedding for Irish bride with incurable cancer
Weddings are often emotional events, but Lorraine Whyman's wedding to the love of her life was made all the more heart-breaking by the fact that she may have just two years left to live.
Lorraine, who lives in Manchester but is originally from Ireland, was diagnosed with breast cancer last May. Despite months of chemotherapy and surgeries, the cancer tragically spread to her brain, and doctors have warned her that her time is limited.
But the 33-year-old says that wasn't the reason her and boyfriend Jon Callahan wanted to tie the knot. "I wouldn’t want anyone to think we’d got married just because I was ill or because my lifespan has an expectancy," she told a local paper.
"If there was a cure tomorrow we’d still be married 60 years from now – that’s why we did it… I wanted everyone to know this is the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with."
The couple got married in Devon before flying to Ireland for a party with Lorraine's extended family. "There was no mention of anyone being ill, it was a normal wedding and that’s what we wanted," said the new bride. “We just wanted to be married and face whatever comes next together.”
Having experienced her own mum's death from ovarian cancer, and watched her aunt battle and survive breast cancer, Lorraine knows just how cruel the disease can be.
"I know what’s going to happen, I’ve seen it happen. But we just have to enjoy whatever time we have left," she said.