Kettering NHS worker scoops £1m lottery jackpot just before finishing cancer treatment

You could say it’s been a rollercoaster of a fortnight for Kettering couple Maxine Lloyd and Wayne Tilbury.

Wayne was taken to A&E after collapsing and Maxine successfully ended her breast cancer treatment – and sandwiched in between they won a £1m lottery jackpot.

Maxine, 50, was keeping an eye on her fiance when she won big on The National Lottery’s £30m Mega Cash Showdown instant win game on her phone.

When her phone later pinged during a radiotherapy session the NHS occupational therapist thought it was a message from Wayne – only to find a notification from her bank confirming her winnings were in her account.

She said: “The win and its timing is the cherry on the top as my main treatment has come to an end.”

Maxine was wide awake when she had a £5 flutter on The National Lottery app on her phone in the early hours of the morning.

The game suggested she had won the £1m top prize but she carried on playing before waking up Wayne, 57, because she didn’t know what to do.

She said: “I said, ‘we have won a million pounds on the lottery’. He half opened his eyes and said, ‘can’t do anything about it now, go back to sleep’ and drifted off.

"I of course couldn’t sleep. The next morning when Wayne came to his senses he asked, ‘did I dream we won the lottery last night or did it actually happen?!’”

The couple, who plan to continue working, want to use their winnings to buy a new home and plan to treat their grown-up children.

They have four between them and two grandchildren and want to invest in a holiday home which they can offer out to their family members who have been so supportive of them.

Builder Wayne said: “We’d love to get a holiday chalet or something where we can chill out at weekends with the dog and loved ones around us. We feel so lucky and want to share it.”

Despite scooping the jackpot Maxine said they felt like they were ‘already winners in life’ because of the support she received during a nine-month fight against breast cancer.

Doctors made the diagnosis in November after she noticed a change in her skin texture. She had surgery in December and on Christmas Eve she was told that the primary cancer had been successfully removed, but that chemotherapy and radiotherapy was recommended to reduce the risk of it coming back.

Last week she rang the bell to symbolise the successful ending of her treatment.

She said: “I could not feel a lump but noticed a change in my skin texture, a sort of dimpling.

"Wayne told me to go to the GP and thank the heavens I did. I was referred to our local specialist breast clinic, an amazing team that assessed, diagnosed and supported me and Wayne through our journey so far. We feel extremely lucky.”’