Mum was pivotal in me becoming a footballer ... but I was just two weeks into my scholarship in America when I was told she was dying, says Rangers defender Kathryn Hill

July 19, 2017. A date that will forever be etched in the memory of Rangers defender Kathryn Hill. The day that she tragically lost her mother, Lesley.

‘My dad came home one night and said: “That’s it, mum is in palliative care”, Hill tells Daily Mail Sport.

‘That moment was probably the hardest, rather than the day she actually passed away. She was in hospital for maybe four or five days. We were just sitting with her in the hospital all day. We knew it was only a matter of time.’

Mum Lesley was only 51 when she died after succumbing to breast cancer; a disease which continues to claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of women every year.

As part of breast cancer awareness month, Rangers player Hill wants to use her voice to highlight a condition which remains one of the UK’s biggest killers.

‘Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate,’ says Hill, 31. ‘It can happen to anyone of any age, any background, so it’s important for people to take responsibility, to know their own bodies and try to make it part of the routine of checking themselves

‘The girls at Rangers all know about my mum. I wear pink tape around my wrist and pink laces all the time, but it’s never then turned into a conversation on checking yourself. It’s important to remind everyone every so often, to be checking yourself.’

For anyone who receives a cancer diagnosis, it’s always a massive shock for both them and their loved ones. Hill was thousands of miles away, having just started a football scholarship in America, when she heard her mum had stage four cancer.

‘My mum had dropped me off at the airport. She was going straight to hospital that day. She’d been having issues with her back.

‘My coaches knew before me that she had cancer, and she didn’t tell me because she was trying to work out what stage she was at and what the outcome was going to be.

‘She’d got in touch with Angie Hind (Hill’s coach in America) and Michelle Barr, who are both Scottish. She told them first. She then texted me one day when I was in class and said: “I want you to go and see Angie. I want to speak with you”.

‘I remember thinking it was so weird that she wanted to speak to me with my coach there, but you know when you get that gut feeling that something is not right? I called her when I got out and she told me what was happening. I don’t think I will ever forget that day.

‘When I heard, I just wanted to go home. The cancer had spread to her bones and other parts of her body.

‘I’d only been in America for two weeks. I hadn’t been away from home before that either, so it was such a big thing for me in the first place just moving away from home to then getting that news. But Angie and Michelle were really good with me.

‘They had also worked with me at Rangers, so they looked out for me. They knew I could go to them if I needed to but also kind of just let me get on with it as well. My mum was adamant there was no point in coming home.

‘I couldn’t change anything, and she didn’t want me to almost stop my dream of playing over there and just to come home and sit about and be miserable.

‘My mum was always so positive. She told me they wouldn’t ever be able to get to get rid of the cancer, but she would fight it for as long as she could.’

Having former Scotland internationals Hind and Barr on hand was a massive help. Hind had been instrumental in helping Hill secure a place in Old Dominion University, a dream come true for the young Rangers fan who had grown up obsessed with football.

‘It was my mum who was pivotal in me becoming a professional footballer,’ says Hill.

‘She was the one that always took me to training and things like that.

‘When I moved up to Rangers for my first stint there (before becoming a professional), we used to train late at night, and she would work all day and then run me up to training, then sit in the car and carry on with her work. She was at every game.

‘She sacrificed so much to make sure I was at the right place at the right time. Before I moved back to Rangers for my second spell as a professional, I was a teacher down in Durham.

‘When I was teaching all day, then rushing off to go to training, there were a few nights where I was absolutely knackered and I remember thinking: “How did my mum do this?”. It was all done for me.

‘It was much later on in my life when I really fully appreciated that. When I was in her shoes and understanding how much time and effort it takes. My mum never complained because she knew football was something I loved. She wanted me to do it. She was such a massive influence in getting me to where I am today.’

Hill admits that, even now, she always has mementos of her mum when she’s on the pitch.

‘I still wear one of her rings. And it’s been 10 years now that I’ve been wearing pink laces. My mum was diagnosed in January 2015, and that’s when I started wearing them. I’ve also got pink tape around my wrists.

‘Whenever I buy a new pair of boots, I order a pair of new pink laces and then the tape I just wear in every game.

‘All the girls have worn pink tape around their wrists as well and that’s something we’ve always done since I’ve been at Rangers in October. It’s nice to see them supporting breast cancer awareness but also knowing they’re doing it to support me and my mum.’

Increasing awareness of breast cancer is crucial, says Hill. Charity CoppaFeel! have been at the the heart of this since their inception in 2009, and have recently visited several Scottish women’s clubs to highlight the dangers.

But Hill, who rejoined Rangers from English side Durham in 2022, believes more can still be done by the SWPL to keep awareness high on the agenda.

‘We’re obviously a female league so it’s something that will unfortunately affect other people within our league at some point in their lives.

‘Sports and people within sports can be so powerful and we need to try to use the league and teams to promote this issue.

‘If we just continue to ignore it, we’re going to be hearing the same sad stories, unfortunately. If we can really use our platform to talk about something that we’re passionate about and care about, then it will reach more people.’

For more information, check out: www.coppafeel.org