Mum says England star is helping her 'do dying well'

A terminally-ill single mother says a foundation set up by former England cricket captain Sir Andrew Strauss has helped her "do dying well."

The Ruth Strauss Foundation supports families facing the death of a parent with incurable cancer, an idea Ruth Strauss discussed with her husband before she died aged 46 from a rare lung cancer, leaving two young children.

Life-long cricket fan, Jackie Storer, from Derby, received emotional and psychological support from the foundation, as well as advice on how to explain her diagnosis to her son.

"Telling your kids, that is just the worst thing in the world. The foundation helped me realise the importance of being open and honest with him," she said.

"I'm determined. I'm going to smile as much as I can. I'm going to do as much with my son as I can, and try to keep him positive through this.

Storer, 49, described herself as "cricket mad" having grown up with her family running Ashton-on-Trent cricket club.

She then batted for Duffield ladies while her 16-year-old son Dom was a keen bowler for Swarkestone CC and the pair had season tickets to watch the Trent Rockets.

But regular playing and spectating was put on hold when a routine hysterectomy in October 2024 revealed Storer had cancer.

A full hysterectomy was required in January 2025 followed by seven weeks of radiotherapy.

A subsequent scan revealed the cancer had metastasized to her lungs and was no longer curable. Storer entered a "pretty heavy" chemotherapy regime until November 2025.

"They told me I've got a high-grade stromal sarcoma, so it was very aggressive, very, very rare and very, very high chances of it coming back or spreading," she said.

"It's just absolutely devastating. My previous experience of cancer is you get it, you're treated, you move on with life.

"Being told this is not something that's going to get better and we can't cure it, it's just crushing."

Faced with having to discuss the diagnosis with her teenage son, cricketing friends and the cancer charity Maggie's recommended Storer contact the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

"Because of the cricket link I thought that would help engage Dom," said Storer, who described they had both received as "brilliant."

"You've got to try and make the most of what we have, however long that is," she said, a mantra she has adopted from the foundation.

"Being down and continually thinking over and dwelling on it is not going to change my diagnosis, you just have to try and live life the best you can.

"I don't feel that positive every day, believe me, but I have to be positive for me and for Dom to make sure we're living life to the full."

One of the special memories Storer created was meeting Strauss, Sir Alastair Cook and the England players at Lords, for the foundation's #RedforRuth event on day two of the recent test match against New Zealand.

"Just being on Lord's pitch was quite amazing," she said, having been joined by other people who have been supported by the foundation.

"We're all in this stressful situation, but it just felt positive.

"It felt like everybody coming together to try and help the same cause, trying to raise money so that more families can get the same sort of support that we've received."

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