The special friendship formed while receiving palliative care

Marie Curie said figures suggested there are more than 10,000 adults across Wales with unmet palliative care needs, external.

It said one in five hospital beds in Wales were occupied by people in the last year of their lives and “bold, radical” action was needed for services which were at “breaking point”.

Gaps in care means “too many people are spending their final days isolated, in pain, and struggling to make ends meet”, it said.

The Welsh government said good palliative and end-of-life care could make a “huge difference” to helping people die with dignity.

It said it provided more than £16m a year to make sure people had access to the best possible end-of-life care, including setting national standards and boosting community services.

Sally hopes that by talking about her end of life it will help break the taboo and encourage others to talk too.

“It’s such a touchy subject,” she said.

“It’s a delicate subject and it shouldn’t be.”

Sally died on Thursday 9 July but it was her family’s wish that we share her story