Eight days later, her daughter Issy turns 18.
She has stage four breast cancer. Two months ago, she had a stable scan. Then everything changed.
"All of a sudden, they told me that without chemotherapy, I've got about four months," Emma says.
She has made her choice. No chemotherapy. Instead, she is throwing herself into the biggest project of her life: a world record attempt that will launch Hope to Connect, a dating app born from cancer's loneliness.
"I just want to make my daughter's 18th birthday," Emma says. "I can only work to that time period."
When cancer makes you invisible
The app Emma and Mandeep are building began with a painful realisation about dating with cancer.
"As soon as you tell people you have cancer, they go AWOL," Emma explains. "Even cancer free, I was just ghosted, stood up. Why are there no dating apps for people with cancer?"
Emma met Mandeep, from Felixstowe, through a mutual friend while searching for someone to build it.
"My background is in social impact work," Mandeep says. "When we met up, I thought this is something really beautiful we can make together. It was divine timing."
Together, they created Hope to Connect, a dating and friendship app designed to match people by cancer type, stage and distance.
"The app will alleviate loneliness, especially at 3am when you need it most," Emma says. "When chemo side effects are bad, when your white blood cells are low, when you don't recognise yourself any more – you can connect with someone who understands."
'Let's do something crazy'
A social media post about Hope to Connect received more than 300 comments from people wishing it already existed. The demand was proven. With the app designed but not yet launched, how do you build awareness?
"When this app goes live, nobody will know about it at first," Mandeep explains. "We need a community beneath us. So we thought, let's do something crazy."
They found their crazy idea in a world record set by a princess in Saudi Arabia: 8,264 people forming a human cancer awareness ribbon. Emma and Mandeep decided to attempt 10,000.
"Imagine: a UK world record that's never been done before, and it happens here," Mandeep says. "This will put a stamp on Suffolk's legacy. It will uplift Ipswich and add to the City of Culture bid as well."
The event will take place at Trinity Park on Saturday, 11 April, with participants arriving from 14:00 for a 15:00 start time. Everyone will wear different colours representing different cancer types. A GPS company will map the ribbon using football pitch paint.
"It'll be a really beautiful, multicoloured ribbon," Mandeep says. "We're making it into a real community event – vintage cars, motorbikes, food, craft stalls, entertainment."
Where the money goes
Hope to Connect Limited (company number 16350510) is registered as a for-profit company, with ticket sales funding app development rather than going directly to cancer charities.
Adults pay £9.95, children under 16 pay £4.95. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.
A separate JustGiving campaign directs funds to five cancer charities, including Cancer Support Suffolk and The Harley James Reynolds Fund.
The company plans to donate 10% of future profits to cancer charities.
"We want to fundraise £500,000 for five cancer charities," Emma says. "If we get anywhere near £100,000, that would be incredible."
Can Suffolk deliver?
Emma and Mandeep have sold more than 1,000 tickets so far. They need 10,000 people to break the record.
"Our last event was a bingo night with 170 people," Emma says.
They have secured support: event site design, police and ambulance coordination, cables and generators, and 13 corporate sponsors, including Fleximize, where Emma works as a relationship manager.
Emma's entire family is involved: Issy scanning tickets, her brother bringing his tractor, and her parents as marshals. Mandeep's family and friends will also be heavily supporting on the day.
"It's not just us," Emma says. "This is a community and local business event."
Emma acknowledges the uncertainty. "People are cautious – January is the longest month of the year. For people with cancer like myself, where will we be in four months?"
A legacy beyond the record
Eight days separate the world record attempt from Issy's 18th birthday. Four months separate Emma from what comes next.
She has made her choice about how to spend that time.
"I made the decision not to have chemo," Emma says. "I've been on chemo before – I know how poorly it makes me. I don't want to be poorly until the end.
"I'm such a workaholic – I'm throwing myself into this project."
The uncertainties hang over everything: whether she makes her daughter's birthday, whether the app launches before she passes, whether Suffolk delivers 10,000 people.
"Emotionally, it is tough, but I'm also at peace with my decisions," Emma says. "My focus now is this event. It's very important to me."
The Hope to Connect world record attempt takes place at Trinity Park, Felixstowe Road, Ipswich, on Saturday, 11 April, from 11:00-19:00. Participants must arrive by 14:00 for the 15:00 record attempt. Tickets are £9.95 for adults and £4.95 for children under 16, and are non-refundable and non-transferable.
