A teacher who 'lived life to the full' after being diagnosed with cancer has died.

Gwendoline Bishop was given just four weeks to live in 2016 and after receiving the devastating diagnosis she took early retirement, bought a campervan and travelled the world with her loving family.

Gwendoline - who liked to be known as Gwen - lost her battle with the disease at her home in Harwood last Thursday. She was just 55.

Her son Lewis said: “She just went on and on, helping the hospital by taking part in a new drug trial, turning four weeks into four years.

“She made sure she used all of the time she had left properly.

“We all went away together, she even got the dogs passports and we took them to Norway for 20 days. Spending the time with each other was amazing, we just appreciated it all so much.”

Gwen worked as a teacher at St Gabriels High School in Bury. When she retired, she purchased a cottage in Harwood with her husband Guy, and set about making memories to cherish with her son Lewis and daughter-in-law Anne-Marie, as well as her two dogs.

Gwen went on three to four holidays a year, including a trip on the Orient Express, trips to Spain with her grandchildren and multiple trips with her husband who stepped away from his own business to make the most of their time together.

Unfortunately around two months ago her health began to deteriorate whilst away in Llandudno, north Wales, where she and Guy visited frequently when they were younger and where they often visited as a family.

Lewis immediately flew from Cyprus, where he is based with the Army, to see his mum.

Lewis said: “Mum and dad planned to retire in old age and get a house in the country which they made sure to do when they found out mum was ill. My sister moved in to help look after mum and to make sure they could do all they had planned. It was so nice that they got to do all that.”

Gwen passed away at the family home in Harwood surrounded by all the family and under the care of Lewis’s sister, Sophie Adams, and his wife, Anne-Marie, who is a recently qualified nurse.

A funeral service was held at Radcliffe Crematorium on August 5 with Lewis saying they “couldn’t have wished for a better send off.”

“80 people showed up outside, some people we didn’t even know, she just seemed to touch so many people’s lives."

The family received support from Bolton Hospice over the last four years with Lewis raising money for them by running a marathon in his back garden. He is planning on doing the same things again when he returns to Cyprus.

He said: “I wanted to raise money for something very close to us and they were there for us throughout mum’s illness.”

Lewis set an original target of £500 for the hospice. Donations now stand at over £3,000.