Spennymoor manager says team inspired by wife's cancer

Wife's cancer inspires team for final, says boss

2 hours ago Share Save Tom Burgess BBC News, North East and Cumbria Nisha Joshi BBC Look North Share Save

BBC Graeme and Gemma Lee feel that Spennymoor FC going to Wembley is a "massive reward"

A football manager says his wife's attitude to cancer will inspire him and his team during the FA Trophy final. Gemma Lee, who is married to Spennymoor Town FC boss Graeme Lee, was told she had 12 months to live in 2019 after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. Despite chemotherapy and radiotherapy failing to shrink the growth, the 44-year-old has been using a £5,000-a-month trial drug and has defied doctors' expectations. The whole family will be heading down to Wembley with the team, and Mrs Lee said it had "given the whole family a boost".

She said she kept active and felt "exceptionally lucky" to still be here. "The first thing I do every morning is look up to the sky and say 'thank you'," she said. "I was given months to live and, thankfully, that was wrong. "It's still scary every day but I've just had a stable scan result so that's pretty phenomenal."

'A massive reward'

Mrs Lee said the trip to Wembley had given their family something to look forward to between scans. "It just feels like a massive reward that we've all been waiting for," she said. "Especially for this guy [Graeme Lee], he deserves it more than anyone. "I see the work he puts in, he really cares for the fans, the players and the staff. "It has given the whole family a boost and we are all going to be there." Mr Lee said watching his wife "fight every day" inspired him and he wanted to take that attitude with him into the final. He said: "Seeing what she goes through every single day, she inspires you. "If it wasn't for how well she deals with it, we wouldn't be able to deal with it. "She drives us and we back her up all the way. "I take that out on to the pitch with the lads." Spennymoor Town fans will be travelling down to Wembley on Sunday to face Aldershot Town at 16:15 BST.

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