I was given a year to live so I married a Turkish toyboy – we don’t speak the same language but it’s true love
AFTER a tough year, a girls' holiday was just what the doctor ordered for Tracy Barnham.
The mum-of-three had been been diagnosed with bowel cancer and was desperate to forget her troubles with a view of the beach.
So when a friend suggested they swap the grey skies of Preston, Lancashire for sunny Marmaris, Turkey, the 47-year-old couldn’t pack her suitcase quick enough.
But what she didn’t expect was to return with such a special souvenir - a new romance.
Speaking in this exclusive interview, Tracy says: "I’d spotted the handsome while sharing pina coladas with my girlfriends by the pool.
"He kept staring at me and I pointed him out to my friends who joked that he was far too young for me but before I knew it he had approached me.
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"But the man didn’t say hello.
"With his English limited instead he typed a message into Google Translate on his phone reading, ‘My name is Kenan. Would you like to meet up tomorrow?’"
Eager to get to know Kenan better, Tracy didn’t miss a beat typing ‘yes’ back into the phone.
“I knew men in Turkey had a bit of a lothario reputation, but Kenan had kind eyes and I deserved to have some fun,” she says.
“I didn’t think much of it and put our exchange down to drunken banter.”
But the next day Kenan was at the hotel waiting to pick Tracy up.
“I learnt Kenan was 20, meaning I was 22 years older than him,” Tracy says.
“But when I pointed out our age difference he told me that it didn’t matter.
“What really concerned me was that I was in the last stages of chemotherapy for stage three bowel cancer.
“As part of my treatment, I’d had my large bowel removed, and now had a colostomy bag.
“When I explained this to Kenan, I was sure he’d run away, but he was amazingly understanding.
“We spent the night together — Kenan was so accepting of my circumstances.
“It was magical.”
FALLING IN LOVE
For the duration of Tracy’s visit the couple remained inseparable, spending time getting to know all about each other.
“I realised I was head over heels, but after four days it was time for me to return home,” Tracy says.
“Kenan promised to FaceTime me once I was back in the UK but deep down I suspected that this was a holiday fling and I’d never hear from him again.
“But Kenan was true to his word and called me not long after I had landed.
“We kept in touch, but it was tricky for him to fly to the UK, and I had no idea when I’d be able to visit Turkey again.”
Weeks after returning home, Tracy received the all-clear from cancer and threw herself back into being a mum to her three daughters ages 21, 25 and 29.
But as she spent more time with her family, the distance drove a wedge between Tracy and Kenan.
She says: “When Covid hit, contact with Kenan faded, and we drifted apart aside from the odd message.”
CANCER MAKES A COMEBACK
Then Tracy was dealt another blow, two years after her all-clear routine blood tests revealed that her bowel cancer had returned.
“My heart sank, I’d thought my health was finally back on track,” Tracy admits.
“But I’d beaten it once and I knew I could again.
“My family and friends rallied around and, with their support, I concentrated on getting better.
“I had chemo, but radiotherapy wasn’t an option because the tumours couldn’t be shrunk.
“One of the tumours has crushed a kidney, so only one of my kidneys was functioning.”
During a 10-hour op, surgeons performed a hysterectomy and removed Tracy’s bladder and ovaries.
“When I woke up, I sobbed, the pain was excruciating,” she recalls.
“I was in intensive care for four days, and then I contracted sepsis.
“I could barely believe what was happening to me.
“But I was told the surgery was successful and doctors gave me the all-clear again.
“As a family, we were over the moon and to celebrate, my daughter, Katie, and granddaughters, Skylar, now three, and Evie, four, planned to visit Turkey.”
REUNITING WITH TOYBOY
It had been five years since Tracy first met Kenan but she let him know she’d be in the country and he quickly suggested meeting up.
“We were staying in a different area, a 10-hour bus ride from where he lived,” Tracy, who had previously been married, explains.
“I told him I didn’t think it would be possible to see him but he insisted.
“I thought he was winding me up, but sure enough, he took the bus to our hotel and before I knew it, we were standing face to face.
“It felt a bit surreal and awkward initially but before I knew it we’d slipped right back into how we’d been before, and I couldn’t have been happier.”
After an ‘amazing’ time together in Turkey, Tracy made the trip back whenever she was able to.
“Soon enough Kenan was asking me to meet his family,” Tracy says.
My cancer returned and it was terminal. It felt like all the surgery I had been through was for nothing.
Tracy Barnham
“I was nervous at the thought of meeting them, but his sisters and brothers were super-welcoming and lovely.
“Sadly, his parents had passed away, but he was very close to his siblings.
“Our romance was moving so fast, and I was on cloud nine.”
Tracy admits she was reluctant to return the favour when it came to her own family.
“I waited to tell friends and family about Kenan,” she says.
“I was worried what their reaction would be when they learnt he was so much younger than me.”
But Tracy needn’t have been worried.
She explains: “My family could see how much Kenan looked after me and they all agreed that they just wanted me to be happy.”
SAYING 'I DO'
With both of their families’ approval, the couple began to think about marriage.
“But a traditional Turkish marriage was out of the question financially,” she says.
“Each time I had to leave Kenan was painful, but I also had my family to get back to in the UK.”
Eight months after Tracy’ all-clear, she returned for a check-up only for her world to come crashing down.
“The consultant explained that my cancer had returned and this time it was terminal,” Tracy says.
“I felt as if I was outside of my body, as if he was speaking about someone else, not me.
“It felt like all the surgery I had been through was for nothing.
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“I was absolutely crushed, and all I wanted was to be in Kenan’s arms, but all I could do was sob my heart out to him on the phone.
“His heart was breaking too, but we were determined to make the most of the time we did have together.”
When Tracy was next reunited with Kenan, the couple made a momentous decision together.
“We decided we both just wanted to get married, just the two of us at his home in Turkey,” she says.
“The paperwork was tricky and stressful.
“But eventually there we were, standing in a registry office with two of Kenan’s work colleagues as our witnesses.
“It wasn’t glamorous by any means, and it was disappointing none of our nearest and dearest could be there, but I felt so happy.
“But on the flight back to the UK, my heart was in a million pieces and I worried I would never make it back.
A YEAR LEFT TO LIVE
“The consultant had told me I had around a year to live as the cancer was spreading to my lungs and stomach.
“If it pressed against my spinal cord, I could become paralysed.”
Tracy says that living with her diagnosis has made the distance from her husband even more difficult.
“Being apart from Kenan is so difficult,” she admits.
“I want him to be here by my side for the remaining time I have left but we can’t afford to fly him here and get his visa.
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“I won’t give up my fight, though, I’ve got so much to live for.”
To donate to Tracy’s cause, visit .