I’m 17 and living on borrowed time – I’ve made my own funeral playlist but I refuse to wait to die
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl has put together her own funeral playlist after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Eden Lewis says she knows she's on borrowed time but she refuses to sit around waiting to die - insisting that life is for living.
Her feel-good motto has seen her smash her GCSEs and attend her school prom with a police escort.
She even went to see her idol Harry Styles in concert at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on June 21.
Two of his songs feature on the list of tunes she wants played when she passes.
Eden said: "I listen to Harry's solo music on repeat all day.
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"His songs Sign of the Times and As It Was speak loudly to me and feature in my funeral playlist that I'm putting together.
"So many lines in Harry's songs help me with how I feel in this journey with cancer and of when I have to leave this world."
Her mum Tess said they had an "absolutely fantastic" night at the gig, with hours of singing and dancing in their seats.
"Eden couldn't stand, only to get from her wheelchair to her seat, but we loved it," she added.
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"We shed a few tears shed during Matilda, Satellites and Sign of the Times, which are on Eden's funeral playlist.
"For me it was wonderful, seeing Eden be Eden again.
"We had food in a Japanese restaurant beforehand and wandered around Cardiff looking at clothes and makeup together.
"We were just being us - laughing and joking and forgetting about cancer and palliative care stuff just for a night."
Eden was diagnosed with bone cancer in June 2020.
That year, she underwent gruelling chemotherapy and had surgery to remove a 5in (13cm) tumour from her right thigh.
She then needed a metal prosthesis and knee replacement, but, after a brief remission, the cancer returned.
Now, she has a terminal diagnosis of osteosarcoma and the cancer has spread to her lungs.
Her dying wish is to have her first kiss, like any normal teenage girl, after the disease stole her carefree years.
'I MISS OUT ON SO MUCH'
Eden, who is studying animal care at college, said: "While I was in hospital and missing school, it felt like my friends had grown up and moved forward in life without me.
"They had boyfriends and girlfriends while I had blood tests and toxic chemicals.
"They threw parties while I was throwing up. I was no longer me, I was a new me, mentally and physically.
"Even now I'm constantly exhausted and in pain 24/7. I miss out on so much."
But she added: "If Harry wanted to be my first kiss, I wouldn't say no!"
Since April 2022, Eden has been taking a drug to prolong her life but the teen knows she is on borrowed time.
She lives in Oakdale, Caerphilly, South Wales with her mum Tess, 39, stepdad Cameron, 39 and her younger siblings Logan, six, and two-year-old Faora.
Tess said: "In 2022 Eden was declared terminal. We were devastated but she has made us so proud with her attitude.
"She says life is for living not for waiting to die.
"In March 2022, Eden had 40 per cent of her left lung removed and went on to do her GCSEs.
"She got five Cs and five Bs and even went to her prom with a police escort.
"Since April last year, Eden has been on a trial drug called Cabozantinib, which is keeping her stable with very minimal growth.
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"This drug will one day stop working and until then we want to use this time to do as much as she can before she passes.
"We try to go on as many days out and trips as we can."
What is blood cancer and what are the symptoms?
THE term blood cancer describes many different types of cancer that affect your blood cells, bone marrow or lymphatic system.
Leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma are some of the most common.
They each have different symptoms, treatments and prognoses.
But broadly, the most frequently reported signs include:
- Weight loss that is unexplained
- Bruising or bleeding that is unexplained
- Lumps or swellings
- Shortness of breath (breathlessness)
- Drenching night sweats
- Infections that are persistent, recurrent or severe
- Fever (38C or above) that is unexplained
- Rash or itchy skin that is unexplained
- Pain in your bones, joints or abdomen (stomach area)
- Tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest or sleep (fatigue)
- Paleness (pallor)
Treatments can include "watching and waiting", chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, radiotherapy, surgery and clinical trials.
Overall, the five-year survival rate for blood cancer is around 70 per cent.
That means someone diagnosed with the disease is only 70 per cent as likely to be alive in five years as someone their age without it.
More than 41,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer every year in the UK. Around 16,000 die.
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