Paul and Penny met at a nightclub in Shifnal over 30 years ago. With two grown up children recently moved out, they were planning out the adventures they’d always dreamed of in their car.
Unfortunately, in April 2024 Penny was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and told she had ‘a few weeks or months’ left.
Penny passed away in November 2025, 18 months after her diagnosis. Her husband Paul bravely shares their story with us.
“She was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in April 2024 and they told us she’d only have a few weeks or months. She quickly started receiving treatment in the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to prolong her life.
“The car basically drove itself to the hospital in the end because we were there so often. The Centre itself was brilliant, as things go. We couldn’t fault the place and everyone there was really, really good. Dr Chatterjee was perfect and couldn’t have done any better for us.
“Penny had radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy – she tried everything. She had to have a mask made for her head. In fact, I’ve still got it. At one point I told her I’d put it in the spare room on the wall but she told me I wasn’t allowed!”
“One of the worst bits about it was the fact the kids had grown up and we’d made lots of plans to go travelling in the car we bought specifically for holidays. There’s a group of us who go away every year. As a group we’ve gone to Holland, Ireland, and Scotland before.
“Unfortunately, we had to cancel everything when she got diagnosed so we weren’t going on the next trip with our friends. The Tuesday we would’ve set off with our friends to go on holiday Penny received some test results which Dr Chatterjee said looked okay, so on the way back from that appointment she suggested we go to Bruges for a couple of days. She was really keen to go.
“We still had the tunnel crossing booked so we thought, why not? She didn’t have any insurance, but we figured it was only two hours back to the UK if need be. It was a mad rush as we went on the Wednesday and came back on the Friday, but it was worth it.”
“We’d been engaged since Penny was pregnant with our eldest who’s now 31, but Penny always said it was only a piece of paper so we never tied the knot. But when we found out things weren’t looking great, we did a mad panic rush to get married.”
Penny and Paul made their marriage vows to each other on Saturday, 25th October.
“Me and Penny’s sisters organised it all when Penny was in hospital and chose a place where we could hold the ceremony and reception in one place as she was in a wheelchair at that point.
“We had over 100 people there. Lots of our friends came and anyone else who wanted to come was invited to join us. It was brilliant. Unfortunately, by the Monday she was back in hospital. We had just 13 days of being married.”
Penny passed away on 7th November 2025, surrounded by her loved ones.
Instead of wedding gifts, the couple generously asked for donations to be made to Lingen Davies Cancer Support and, after speaking to a member of our fundraising team, decided to allocate them to our Sunflower Appeal.
This £5million appeal will enhance cancer services across the region through the development of a Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.
“We’re based in Telford but truthfully, we didn’t know about the appeal until we got an email from someone at Lingen Davies Cancer Support.
“Penny was mad for sunflowers. In her last 18 months we went to almost all the sunflower farms in the UK. She grew some in our garden, at the funeral everyone wore sunflower badges, and there’s even a sunflower on her headstone at the crematorium.
“She lived for them, and they were her favourite, so it felt right.”
As Penny and Paul were in the first 100 people to donate £500 or more to the Sunflower Appeal, they have both been recognised as Founders and will be permanently recognised in the new Lingen Davies Cancer Centre when it’s finished – a wonderful legacy for Penny White.