A CANCER sufferer who has been given six months to live ticked a long-awaited item off her bucket list when she enjoyed a surprise ride on a motor-trike.

Judith Baker, 66, was a keen biker in her younger years but had long harboured a desire to get a ride-out on a Honda Goldwing motor-trike.

She has endured a torrid 20 months of ill health starting in June 2018 when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

She started a course of chemotherapy but was then hospitalised with sepsis in August and her treatment was suspended.

When a colostomy operation was performed, it was discovered the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs.

In December 2018, Judith suffered a fall, damaging her right hip, soft tissue and nerves.

She suffered another fall in April, fracturing her right leg and hip.

A short course of radiotherapy was undertaken in June and a scan found the liver cancer was progressing, with the doctors telling Judith and her husband Sean, 63, she had around six months to live.

“She has had a really tough period of ill health, accidents, treatments and operations,” said Sean.

“In April, what with Covid, I couldn’t go to the hospital to see her and had consultation about her cancer treatment over the telephone.

“It has been really tough.”

One glimmer of hope for Sean has been the generosity of the Honda Goldwing UK Owners Club, which agreed to send 12 of its members on a special trip to the couple’s home in Tolleshunt Knights.

“It was a dream come true for Judith,” he said.

“Judith’s long-time friend, Pamela, contacted one of her friends and Honda Goldwing owner Colin Will to ask if he could help realise her dream to ride on a Goldwing motorbike or trike.

“They frequently organise charity or bucket list events, so plans were quickly in hand for several bikes and trikes to give her a day to remember.

“Three trikes, accompanied by six Goldwing bikes and one Harley Davidson, took us from our home to Paper Mill Lock Tearooms, in Little Baddow, where the owners had reserved parking for the convoy and tables for us.”

He added: “Judith was absolutely thrilled with her surprise outing.

“She used to be a biker in her earlier years

“On the way over there she wore a crash helmet, but on the way back she decided to take it off as she wanted to feel the wind – and why not.”

Judith is aiming high for the next item on her bucket list, with Sean hoping he may be able to secure her a ride in a hulking Chieftain battle tank.

Sean, who works as a building site manager, said: “I want to thank the Goldwing owners who travelled from all over Essex and East London, with some even breaking off their holidays, to make this happen.”

Judith worked for many years as a carer, a career which Sean says “was more than a job to her”.

“After the shock of the first few days after her prognosis, Judy was actually really positive in her outlook.

“She is determined in many ways to prove them all wrong, as she has too much to do to fit into six months.

“We have been together for 20 years and she has always been a positive person.

“She is also generous, as up until the fall in 2018 she had worked as a carer in the community.

“She was extremely popular with her clients and patients, she treated everyone as almost part of her family.

“Whenever she lost any client she would get very upset.

“It was more than a job to her.”

When asked about how she handles her cancer and her confrontation with her own mortality, Judith says: “You just have to punch it straight in the face.

“I just carry on and take each day at a time.”