I made lasagnes for all the Edinburgh hospital staff who helped me during my cancer treatment

Antonietta Coppola, who lives in Corstorphine, was diagnosed with aggressive triple-negative breast cancer in 2024 after she went to the doctor complaining of what she believed to be a gall bladder issue.

The 76-year-old mother of three, who moved to Edinburgh from Italy in the 1970s and ran chip shops in the capital with her late husband Alberto, was told she was in fact suffering from major heart issues. After undergoing a heart scan, Antonietta was dealt a further blow when doctors said they had also found a tumour in her breast.

Mariapia Coppola, Antonietta’s daughter, said: “We were told it was a really aggressive cancer which had probably been something that had been there for a while.

"The only way to get rid of it was to operate because her heart couldn't take chemotherapy and because it wasn't hormonal, it also couldn't be treated with a pill. But we knew there was a risk that she wouldn't come out of the surgery, so it was a big decision, it was hard."

Antonietta Coppola, who lives in Corstorphine, made lasagnes and tiramisu for the doctors and nurses who cared for her during her cancer treatment. | Mariapia Coppola

Antonietta’s first operation went smoothly, but a second was soon needed after doctors found more cancer which had to be removed urgently.

“There was that risk again that the operation would be too much for her, especially as now she was even weaker from the first one,” said Mariapia. “This all happened in the space of a year so there was a lot of risk and stress.

“Mum’s surgeon, anaesthetists, doctors and nurses and all the staff were brilliant though and really helped to explain it all to mum and put her somewhat at ease. Mum has always been the one who looks after everyone so it was lovely to know that they were looking after her.”

Mariapia and her siblings Annalisa and Vincenzo had a nervous wait outside the operating theatre for news about their beloved mum, during which time they said the hospital staff surpassed all their expectations.

“We just couldn’t believe it. They are such busy people and they even looked after us when we were waiting. They gave us tea, coffee and treats. They didn’t just look after mum and all the other patients, they also looked after us,” she said.

The efforts of the doctors and nurses at the breast clinic and recovery ward 6 at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital did not go unnoticed by Antonietta. She made it her mission to thank them in the best way she could think of - by making them portions of her famous lasagne. She even made a tiramisu when she found out that it was the the surgeon's favourite.

“Mum used to serve lasagne when she and dad ran the chip shop and she would tell the nurses about how good it was," said Mariapia. “So they talked about it when she was receiving treatment and mum said that she wanted to make some for all the staff who had helped save her life.

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“She made lasagnes in big trays and portioned them and then did the same with the tiramisu. The staff were all delighted and so was mum.”

And it wasn’t just the hospital staff who were blown away by Antonietta’s kind gesture. A video of the grandmother preparing the dishes was uploaded to TikTok, unbeknown to her, by one of her four granddaughters, and has garnered around 70, 000 likes and hundreds of comments.

“Mum doesn’t really understand TikTok or what the likes and things mean, but it has been so nice for us to read the comments, from all over the world, including from doctors saying how much they were touched by this story,” said Mariapia.

“It would be easy to say that the last year has been really hard but this is just such a lovely story to come out of it. My mum would like to thank all the staff who have helped her get through this cancer. They all work so very hard to make patients feel so comfortable and we should all be very grateful."