A “DETERMINED” Dalmuir woman – who raised funds for the Macmillan nurses – has lost her battle with cancer.

Margaret Dolan was diagnosed with cancer of the lung and colon in March 2017 but was told the following June there was no more doctors could do.

However, as the Post previously reported, the gutsy pensioner defied the odds by raising more than £1,200 for the nurses who cared for her and making it to her 73rd birthday on Tuesday, June 5.

She died later that morning, surrounded by family and friends, and best pal Nancy Mowatt spoke of her admiration for the woman who just kept “battling back”.

Nancy, 68, formed an unlikely friendship with Margaret three years ago, which would often see them race each other on their mobility scooters alongside the River Clyde.

She was still coming to terms with the loss when she told the Post: “I’ve been better. I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s been getting tougher.

“In January she was told she’d days [to live]. In May she was in hospital for three weeks and she was told she had hours [to live] and she battled back.

“I’ve been saying all year I was going to send her a birthday card and she said, ‘no you’re no’. I was going to take it up on Tuesday morning, but she passed.”

Margaret and her friends Nancy, Ally Corr and Angela Halpin organised a night of music and fancy dress in January at the 543 Club in aid of Macmillan nurses.

Sister Mary Frizzle said Margaret, fondly known by those close to her as “Mags”, was a “strong-willed woman” who “when she made up her mind to do something, it usually happened”.

She added: “Organising the Macmillan charity night was one of these things. It gave ger a reason to keep going but mostly she was so impressed with the work and care the Macmillan staff do.”

Nancy described the last night they shared with Margaret as “amazing” and said: “She laughed and she joked. She was in a lot of pain but when she was like that she asked for me because I knew how to rub her belly right.

“It was the best night we had for months but we think she knew. She told us to look after Angela and that she loved us.”

Margaret’s funeral will be held at Clydebank Crematorium on Thursday at 3.30pm and she had asked that those attending wear bright colours and enjoy themselves.

Asked how she would remember Mags, Nancy said: “If I had to describe Margaret Dolan in three words? She was strong, determined and bloody daft.

“She wanted it to be her way, but she was always wrong. She was just so nice and I’m missing her. I get up in the morning and I don’t know what to do.

“On Thursday we will remember her. I’ve got photos of her everywhere. We’ve got one of her trying to eat a cream cake and it’s up her nose… but she looked happy.”