A mother has died from a rare cancer that affects one in a million people.

Samantha Hollands, 37, who was originally from Lydd but lived in Kingsnorth, Ashford, suffered from pseudomyxoma, a cancer that starts in the appendix.

Only two hospitals in this country are able to treat it.

The slow-growing disease may not show any symptoms at first and Mrs Holland was told she had it when she went to an appointment regarding her fertility.

Her mother, Susan Lee, said it was an appointment that “changed everyone’s lives”.

Mrs Lee, of The Derings, Lydd, said: “She went to have tests done and that was the day our lives changed forever.

“The consultant sat her down and told her there were going to be no more babies and that she had this cancer.”

After undergoing a 10-hour operation the following year, which involved the removal of her womb, ovaries and stomach lining, she thought the cancer had gone.

Mrs Lee added: “She never said ‘why me’ and she still did charity work for her particular cancer.

“She was always smiling. Over the next five years it came back very slowly and her stomach got bigger and bigger.

“She looked like she was nine months pregnant. In the last few months she was in so much pain.”

Mrs Hollands and her husband, Jay, married in September 2014 after she proposed to him over dinner.

Together they have 10-year-old Logan and had wanted to expand their family.

Hundreds of people paid their respects at the funeral of Mrs Hollands, who also leaves behind parents Susan and Robert and siblings Sarah and Adam.

Mrs Lee added: “When I came out of the church I saw so many people standing around and I just wanted to hug every single one of them.

"She went to have tests done and that was the day our lives changed forever" - Susan Lee

“But we had to get into the cars and we couldn’t say thank you to everyone for coming.

“Although it was the saddest day of our lives the day she died, on the day of the funeral I was the proudest mum on the planet.”

Mrs Hollands went to Lydd Primary School and then to Southlands, which is now the The Marsh Academy.

She was the former manager of fashion store Warehouse at the Ashford Designer Outlet but recently trained in childcare.

Mrs Lee said that her daughter had six godchildren, all of whom “idolised her” and that she had always loved looking after the youngsters.

She managed to work in childcare until her illness progressed. She died at the William Harvey Hospital on Friday, February 10.

The funeral last week at All Saints’ Church, Lydd, was led by the Rev Mike Gooch, her former primary school head teacher who changed career to become a priest.

Six white doves were released into the sky after the service by her family and two close friends.

Mrs Hollands was cremated at Charing and the wake was at The Conningbrook, Kennington.

She was on the organ donor register but, because of the severity of the cancer, she was only able to donate her corneas.

This will help someone with obscured vision to see again.