TRIBUTES have been paid to brave Bournemouth mum Nikki Hastings who lost her battle with cancer last week.

Nikki, 40, sadly passed away on June 25 at the Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital.

The courageous mum of two, a former Daily Echo blogger, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2008, but put up an incredible battle against the disease.

Initially told she had just months to live, the Breast Cancer Care ambassador fought against the disease for six years.

A trial drug destroyed more than two-thirds of the cancer in her body, buying her more precious time to spend with her daughters Leah and Megan and husband Kevin.

She allowed us to run her journal as a blog in the hope it would help others like her.

in her first post, she spoke of her shock at being 35, fit and healthy and yet terminally ill. in 2009 she talked about malicious rumours she had exaggerated her illness for money. In 2011, Nikki told the Daily Echo of her pride in being able to take her youngest daughter to school – a moment she thought she wouldn’t see, and in 2012 chose to stop blogging because her life was on such an even keel. And she recently celebrated her 40th birthday surrounded by family and friends.

Her mum, Ann Carter, said: “In the last month at her 40th birthday she just looked radiant.”

Nikki was admitted to hospital on June 2.

“We’re on automatic pilot at the moment. The girls are coping well; they have got masses of support at school,” Ann added.

“Everyone is rallying round. Macmillan and Lewis-Manning have been amazing support to us all.

“I am and always will be incredibly proud of her; she will always be my little girl.”

Earlier this year Nikki paid tribute to Lewis-Manning for helping to lift her out of a depression. She was filmed for BBC’s The One Show, which featured the day hospice’s work to create lasting legacies for patients.

And she also met the Countess of Wessex, who was visiting to see the hospice’s new state-of-the-art facilities.

Nikki’s funeral will take place at Poole Crematorium on Thursday, July 3 at 1.30pm.

  • You can read Nikki’s blog posts for the Daily Echo here

Lasting influence

Rachel Lapworth, director of development at Lewis-Manning Hospice said: “At Lewis-Manning we offer support and care to patients to help them cope with their illness and the significant changes it may bring.

“It is often the case that patients benefit from talking to each other and, as a great communicator, Nikki enjoyed time spent talking to other patients and became a great ambassador for the hospice, generously sharing her story with good humour at events, in the newspaper, on the radio and on TV.

“By sharing her story and allowing her photograph to be used in our publicity, Nikki helped to raise our profile so that other people might also benefit from what we do.

“And as part of the interview panel for our nursing team, Nikki's influence will continue into the future of hospice care at Lewis-Manning.”