Heartbroken parents Sue and John Coxwell have paid tribute to their brave daughter Claire, who has died after a year-long battle against cancer. Her funeral takes place today (Oct 10).

Sue and John said Claire enjoyed life until the bitter end and acted as if she didn't have a care in the world despite suffering from the illness which eventually claimed her life. She remained happy and positive through nine months of painful chemotherapy sessions, the loss of her hair and even the amputation of the lower half of her left arm.

Claire, 14, died peacefully surrounded by her family at their home in Desborough Avenue, High Wycombe, at 7.35pm last Tuesday, almost two months after her lungs collapsed.

Mrs Coxwell said: "All the way through Claire said she was not going to die. Even when she knew she was going to lose her arm she said she would survive. If we all started crying she would say 'Oh, here we go again'.

"She didn't bear any grudge, she was always smiling. So many people knew her and loved her."

Mr Coxwell added: "Up to the last moments Claire was thinking of us all the time. She told everyone she loved them at the end."

Claire, who was a pupil at Great Marlow School, with her brother Paul, 16, was diagnosed with the condition Rhabdomyosarcoma after the discovery of a large lump on her left arm last October.

She was admitted to The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, Middlesex, for tests and, just before Christmas, the Coxwells were told the lump was an aggressive tumour.

In January, Claire's chemotherapy began. In April doctors removed part of her arm in a desperate attempt to halt the spread of the disease. Tragically, the cancer spread to Claire's chest causing her lungs to collapse.

Mrs Coxwell said: "When the doctors said there was no more they could do she didn't cry for long. On the way home she asked if we could stop and get some videos. She said 'just keep thinking happy thoughts for me'."

Her parents remember how Claire would always find time for other people in hospital.

Mr Coxwell said: "In the ward she would go up to people and just introduce herself and get involved. If nobody wanted to do anything then she would get them all involved as well.

"Claire even worried about the other kids in the ward who were ill," added Mrs Coxwell. "She was like a friend-maker for everyone."

Shortly before her death, Claire, a keen swimmer, was able to realise her life's dream and swim with dolphins in America.

Mr Coxwell said: "She got into the car on the journey there and just didn't stop talking. She was beaming from ear to ear."