TikTok star's mum to keep daughter's name alive

Scrolling through her late daughter's TikTok page which documented her rare cancer, it was clear to Jenny Smith what she must do.

The mother-of-three, from Woolton, Merseyside, wanted to turn "pain into purpose" and give something back to the millions who watched her daughter's struggles with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer.

Leah Smith died on 11 March at the age of 22, but in the five years prior to her death she gathered millions of followers across Instagram and TikTok as she raised awareness of the disease.

Now Ms Smith, and Leah's brother Liam, want to set up Leah's Little Sunflowers charity to help other families struggling with the cost of cancer.

Ms Smith said: "It has been very sad but with Leah you can’t be sad, she wouldn’t let you.

"I still feel I’ve lost her, she’s gone but she is inside me so strong.

"I’ve got pain, it’s painful but I want to turn that into purpose.

"Everything she wanted to do, I feel like I’ve got to do for her now, I’ve got to carry that on for her.

"It would be a waste then, what she’s done, all that building, I want to carry it on."

Leah, who leaves behind brother, Liam, 21 and sister, Orla, five, was an aspiring model before she was diagnosed in October 2019 at the age of 18.

After previously complaining of back ache, followed by 10 months of scans and blood tests, Leah was rushed to The Royal Liverpool Hospital after collapsing outside her local doctors.

An MRI scan revealed she had a tumour the "size of a watermelon" which was later confirmed as Ewing sarcoma.

The main symptoms are pain in the affected area that gets progressively worse, alongside swelling and tenderness.

The TikTok star initially entered remission but the cancer came back in 2022 and she suffered complications as the cancer "grew off her pelvic bone".

Doctors including specialists in America, Italy, Germany, were all involved with Leah’s case.

"They were all saying 'it doesn't act like this' so Leah's was very rare," Ms Smith said.

"It was scary because it was rare but there were so many people involved, it felt alright."

Leah received millions of likes on her videos which showed her daily life living with Ewing sarcoma, usually diagnosed in people aged 10 to 20.

Ms Smith said the "ripple effect" cancer creates is "unbelievable".

She said she was "really lucky" to have a good support network but said "there's nothing there to help with the whole situation".

She said: "There’s lots for cancer charities and that’s brilliant, but I’m talking about help with travelling to the hospital, help with a hot meal for the parents.

"It hits the families, all the travel to and from hospital."

Ms Smith left her job at Tesco to look after Leah after her diagnosis and she observed for five years the "true cost of cancer".

Ms Smith wants to incorporate her daughter's love of the sunflowers and the colour yellow, into the charity name.

She said: "I want to help families who have lost their jobs, wages, because of a cancer diagnosis, it's not fair and there isn't much out there that helps with that."

The 22-year-old, who was laid to rest on 25 March, has been described as an "inspiration" and a "happy", "funny" young woman.

Liam, who lives in Ellesmere Port, said her followers meant "everything to her" and now they are supporting the family.

"It was strange (to see so many people following her), we didn’t actually realise the impact Leah had on people until she did sadly pass away," he said.

"She touched so many people’s lives, she helped so many people, she was just an amazing person."

"We have so many people supporting us, it’s unbelievable," he said.

Ms Smith said Leah's followers would be there for her at all times of the day.

She said: "One thing Leah said to me is ‘mum I’m never lonely and I never will be with my followers', I’ve felt that.

"I can’t go off track because I just have to pick my phone up and see all the love they’ve got, all the support and I think ‘come on Leah, we’ve got to do this, let’s go'.

"I've got to keep Leah's name alive."

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