'I have terminal cancer - so wrote my own funeral song'

When Sharna Matthews found out her lung cancer was terminal, she turned to music to process her feelings.

Mrs Matthews, who performs covers with her husband Jim at small venues in West Yorkshire, said recording her own funeral song had helped her to "deal with the hurt" of leaving loved ones behind.

Her song Think Of Me Again was produced by professional musicians at Leeds-based charity The Swan Song Project, which creates musical legacies for people nearing the end of their lives.

Mrs Matthews, 47, said her diagnosis was a "smack in the face" but that creating her swan song had helped her to "make sense of it all".

"Going through this process has really helped me to understand and express how I'm feeling," she said.

"It's going to be played at my funeral, but I want it to be positive and uplifting because that's who I am."

Mrs Matthews, from Tingley, received hospital treatment for pneumonia and septicaemia in May last year, before finding out that she had stage 4 lung cancer.

She was referred to Macmillan Cancer Support by nurses, and said it helped her to "think about living rather than dying".

Mrs Matthews' song is a parting gift to her loved ones, with the lyrics describing the important and joyous moments in her life, such as travelling in her blue camper van with her family.

The chorus includes a message to remember good times:

"You'll see me in the clouds, the wind and the rain,

"Remember the joy, don't sink in the pain..."

Her husband Jim said he had been playing the song constantly.

"It's on when I'm driving and I just love singing along," he said.

"But it's going to be hard to listen to when she's not here and I can't think about that yet."

The Swan Song Project was founded in 2017 by Ben Buddy Slack, a singer-songwriter from Leeds who came up with the idea after his grandmother died.

He said they had loved singing together and that he regretted not recording her voice.

He wanted to give everyone in the same position the chance to create their own original song, even if they have never sung before.

"The dream is that this just becomes the norm," he said.

"Like when you die you leave a will so why not leave a swan song as well?"

"People can say 'have you heard my mum's swan song?' and what a beautiful way it would be to remember them."

Mr Slack, who plays guitar in Mrs Matthews' song, said working with her had been a privilege.

"It's been a fast track to friendship because we sat down and got everything out that was important in her life," he said.

"Part of the death anxiety people have when they find out they don't have long left is 'do my family know how much I love them?'

"So when they come here and we can help them put that together into something permanent it's very special."

The charity works with nine hospices across Yorkshire and has helped more than 170 people going through end-of-life care to compose and record their own songs.

Mr Slack said when he started the project eight years ago it was just him and his guitar, but now he can call on musicians from many different genres to create songs in any style.

"We are doing something unique and whether you think you can sing or not we can help you make your swan song for the people you love," he said.

"Sometimes when people come they say 'I've not had a very special life' but they're always wrong.

"Everyone's had an interesting life and we find that for them and it helps them through a really difficult time."

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