THE family of a mother-of-five given less than a year to live are desperate to give her a wedding to remember.

Barbara Carter, aged 56, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in October last year and has been given between six and nine months to live.

On March 28, the grandmother-of-nine will celebrate her 34th wedding anniversary with 61-year-old husband Graham – the couple having married at Bury Registry Office in 1981.

Barbara and Graham, who moved from Unsworth to Sawley Avenue, Whitefield, last year, could not afford a big wedding as they already had three young children, and so did not have a honeymoon.

Instead of a wedding dress, Barbara wore a white skirt and blouse and the couple celebrated with friends and family at the then Masons Arms in Whitefield.

When daughter Joanne, aged 31, asked her mother if she had any dying wishes to tick off her ‘buck et list’, Barbara revealed she wanted the perfect fairytale wedding.

Now Barbara and Graham are set to renew their vows at St George’s Church in Hollins Lane, where Barbara’s father Joseph was a churchwarden for 14 years.

In a cruel twist of fate , Joseph also suffered from pancreatic cancer and died in 2005 just six weeks after he was diagnosed.

Barbara, who lived on the Sykes Avenue estate for 27 years, said: “I grew up in that church and it means a lot to me.

“I want to have my princess day."

Barbara and Graham are parents to Gary, aged 38, 36-year-old Kelly, Adele, aged 34, 31-year-old Joanne, and Ryan, aged 20.

The couple also have a foster daughter Nicola, aged 34.

Graham, who previously worked as a painter and decorator, has now given up work to be Barbara’s full-time carer.

He said: “We are all trying to stay positive at the moment.

The way she has responded to treatment has been encouraging.

“Barbara is so strong and takes everything in her stride.

"She is the hear t of the family.”

Joanne added: “It is so hard to deal with, you feel like you are already grieving for someone who is still here with you.

“She is a fantastic mother.

As children we never wanted for anything.”

Barbara, who was chairman of the Sykes Avenue estate’ s housing committee, began feeling unwell in May last year but after scans at Fairfield Hospital was given the all-clear in August.

At the end of Sep tember, she went to the doctor with visible signs of jaundice and was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where it was revealed her lymph nodes were crushing her bile duct.

Several weeks later Barbara and her family were told she had inoperable terminal pancreatic cancer.

Barbara has just finished three months of chemotherapy at The Christie , which has a 20 to 30 per cent success rate, and is undergoing scans to determine whether treatment should continue.

She said: “To be told I had the all-clear and then be told it was terminal was so awful.

“I am just trying to take things one day at a time.”

Barbara worked at the breakfast club at Hollins Grundy Primary, where all her children and two of her grandchildren attended, and also worked as a waitress in Manchester and as a carer for a blind girl.

Also on her bucket list are a visit to the Norwegian fjords and to watch Britain’s Got Talent live.

When Joanne appealed for the public’s help with the wedding and reception on Facebook this month, offers came flooding in.

She said: “We were all totally blown away. We would also like to thank Joanne Hill – she has helped in so many ways.”

B.E Events and Occasions, based in Tameside, have now offered to organise the wedding.

To offer help: call Emma Simpson on 07827 817556 or email beeventsandoccasions@outlook.com and to make a donation: go to go-fundme.com/k26qj4