DAILY visits from Marie Curie nurses were one of the few joys for 74-year-old Gill Colthart in the final days of her life.

The grandmother, who had been diagnosed in 2020 with a rare and incurable form of lung cancer caused by a genetic variant, had spent five weeks in one of the charity's Edinburgh hospices before coming home to be with her family.

She died in May 2021.

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"The nurses that came to the house were incredible," said her daughter, Maxine Dundas.

"They were one of mum’s only glimpses into the outside world and she really looked forward to them visiting every day with their chat, fun and kindness."

Her mother's illness had struck "out of blue" and left the family reeling.

Ms Dundas, 51, said: "She and Dad moved in with me on New Year’s Day when she was discharged out of hospital prematurely and with no care package put in place after a hip replacement.

“I think you don’t truly realise what’s involved in a terminal illness journey until you have to walk that thorny path.

"As a family we felt really lonely and we were struggling for much of the time."

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Ms Dundas added: "Covid meant that services were not normal and so a world that was already dark became even darker and really quite difficult.

"We had been trying to sort out council-led care at home for mum but after several months of trying were still getting nowhere."

In the end, council-funded palliative care was eventually put in place - but only two days before Mrs Colthart passed away.