The family of a mum-of-three who died four months after a rare cancer diagnosis say they don’t want anyone else to experience the grief and pain they went through.

A memorial match will be held tomorrow (August 25) at Dartford Cricket Club in honour of the much-loved facilities manager, Sam Walker.

Emma Rossiter describes her cousin as “genuinely incredible” who had a family that “loved her immensely”.

“She was just full of life and energy,” she added. “She lit up every room she walked into and we really miss her.”

The 37-year-old from New Ash Green was facilities manager at Dartford Cricket Club (DCC), as well as the daughter of chairman Harry Bright and vice-president Sandra Bright.

Her husband, David Walker, was also a long-time playing member at Hesketh Park.

Club president Neil Wilson said: “Sam’s forthright, friendly, and exuberant personality, and willingness to take on any task and face up to any challenge, touched the hearts of so many within and outside of the DCC community, that she will be very sorely missed by a very wide circle of people.”

Her funeral was held on Thursday, June 27 at Kemnal Park Crematorium, Chislehurst.

In August last year, the mum started to have strong stomach pains and immediately knew something was wrong.

After going back and forth, she pressed her GP for further consultations.

Emma said: “It felt like she had just pulled a muscle in her stomach at first.

“But the doctor put her on a two-week urgent referral, as he agreed it didn’t add up.

“That’s where things began to snowball. She was doing lots of different tests – they were looking for everything.”

In December she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and by January was given 12 to 18 months to live.

Despite this, Sam only lived another four.

Emma says it was “devastating” for friends and family to see her decline.

“She sadly had a stroke towards the end of April and was then admitted to hospital after that,” she explained.

“Unfortunately, that was it. There was nothing that anyone could have done.

“I think we all still clung to hope that maybe there'd be some kind of miracle.”

Sam died on Thursday, May 23 at the Ellenor Hospice in Gravesend.

She leaves behind her three children – Ella, 18, Dylan, 13 and Logan, who is just 20 months old – along with David, her husband of two years.

Cholangiocarcinoma is a type of rare cancer that forms in the bile ducts, which help break down fats in food to help digestion.

It connects the liver to the gallbladder and the small intestine.

There are around 2,000 new cases every year in the UK and rising.

Emma said: “People don't know the things to look for. They don't know the tests to run.

“That is a huge issue because you can't help but speculate. Could those few months have made a difference?

“If this cancer was more well-known, more talked about and if GPs knew more about it – what extra time could we have had with her?”

Tomorrow, in honour of Sam, Dartford Cricket Club is set to go head-to-head against a team of Kent Legends – including David Fulton, Ed Stanford and Min Patel.

Managing director of England men's cricket, Rob Key, will be at the event for a Q&A session.

From 2pm there will be a bouncy castle, ice cream van and BBQ, as well as raffle tickets on sale throughout the day.

It is a poignant time, as next Saturday (August 31) would have been Sam’s 38th Birthday.

Money collected at the event will go towards AMMF, which is the UK’s only cholangiocarcinoma charity.

So far more than £3,000 has been raised on the family’s JustGiving page.

If you would like to donate, please click here.

Emma added: “It's going to be a really emotional day, but we're very excited for it.

“I know she would love it, which makes it harder in a way as you kind of wish she was here to see it.

“We just don't want another family to ever have to experience the grief and the pain that we have.”