Woman says Kettering Hospice 'phenomenal' after care her mother received
Cransley Hospice looked after Cat Agacy's mum Lorraine in the last few weeks of her life, after a shock cancer diagnosis.
Last updated 6th Oct 2025
A woman is calling a Kettering Hospice 'phenomenal' after the care her mother received.
This week marks Hospice Care Week and the start of fundraising campaign Go Green for Cransley, all in aid of Cransley Hospice.
Cat Agacy's mum Lorraine Takaira was cared for there, in the last few weeks of her life, after a shock cancer diagnosis. Lorraine was only 68 when she died after a heartbreakingly short battle with cancer, shortly after Cat and her family had moved back to Kettering.
In January 2025, Lorraine hurt her back moving boxes in her new home and when her symptoms did not heal within weeks as she expected, she sought advice from her GP who referred her for tests at Kettering General Hospital in early March.
The results were devastating. It was revealed that Lorraine had lung cancer, that had metastisised to her bones and liver. She was given a prognosis of “weeks, maybe a month.”
Her daughter Cat is bravely sharing her families experience of hospice care and why she feels it’s so important that these services remain available to anyone who needs them in our community:
"It was just love and care it is and for me and my husband, they supported us so much. The kids, the kids have got teddy bears and blankets that they gave us. So the evening that Mum first got there, one of their health care assistants, he brought out two teddy bears and two like memory blankets that my kids sleep with every night now. They're nanny bears."
Cat says she expected the atmosphere to be like a hospital ward with moans and groans of people in pain, but said the atmosphere at Cransley was totally different:
"We couldn't have asked for a better support team from the ladies that are bringing breakfast, lunch and dinner to mum.
"They didn't care that mum was only having one or two mouths full. They just wanted it to be there for her. They didn't care that I was stealing the dessert because I was sending so much time in there and you could come and go as you please."
Cat and her family are now dedicated to supporting Cransley Hospice Trust to ensure that other local patients and their families also have access to the care that helped them to make these dark moments that little bit brighter. They regularly donate their unwanted items to the charitie’s retail stores on Horsemarket in Kettering town center and have recently signed up to the upcoming ‘Sparkle Walk,’ raising over £800!
Cat has also signed up to do the Kettering Half Marathon with her cousin in aid of the Hospice, and hopes sharing her story will mean others will support fundraising opportunities, including Go Green For Cransley:
"They are phenomenal. I can't thank them enough. I can't do enough. I'll do anything and everything to support Cransley."
Jenine Rees is Head of Fundraising and marketing at Cransley Hospice Trust and says every little bit of cash donated makes a big difference:
"It makes an incredible difference. It costs around £755 a day, so I think it will equates to about 20 days or so of care in the Hospice. So you know the difference that that went will make, the impact that that that will have is huge."