"My best friend died..."

Hannah's best friend died of cancer. This is her tragic story...

Karen and me met at nursery school and became best friends straight away. I liked her curly blonde hair and the way she could make anything funny. She didn't care what people thought of her, she was just like me.

“ I thought we would be friends for life... ”

We went through everything together. First kisses, first boyfriends, first break-ups. She was one of the most popular girls in school and I was quite shy, but we told each other everything and I knew we would be friends for life.

Then one day when we were in year 10, Karen found a lump in her leg. She showed it to me, it was small and hard, near her ankle.

We did everything together...

She didn't think much about it, but her parents took her to the doctor and they told her that the lump was cancer. It was the biggest shock to every one because she was such a sporty tom-boyish girl and we'd never thought of her ever getting the disease.

She had an operation to remove the lump almost immediately. I went to visit her in the hospital afterwards. I don't think either of us had really taken in how serious it was at that point.

We thought it was over. Karen felt recovered from the operation quickly and life went on as usual. Then, a few months later, the cancer came back.

he cancer was back, and this time it had spread through her body and Karen would have to have chemotherapy to ensure that it was all removed.

I felt numb

It was such a hard time for all of us, especially her, each session of chemotherapy left her weaker, paler and thinner than the last. She had more operations, had her arm in a sling, then she was on crutches, then walking with a limp. It was one thing after the next. I wondered if she would ever get well.

She was in hospital all the time, and only awake some of the time. I felt bad if I was there one of the lucky times she was awake as it meant that her mum and dad missed out. But I think they knew that by being there I was helping Karen feel normal, like a normal teenager.

“ I can't really believe she's gone... ”

I was on the bus when I got a call to say that my beautiful, laughing friend Karen had died. I felt numb. I couldn't even cry I just staggered off the bus and walked home to my mum.

Even now I can't really believe she's gone. It's like she got off the train too early or something. We're all growing up, getting boyfriends and worrying about what to wear to prom, but Karen is frozen in the past.

All I can do is think about the happy times we shared together. In my head Karen is smiling and shaking her blonde hair in the sunshine. That's how I will always remember her.