Family devastated by the silent killer

HAPPY times . . .Philip and Barbara Dewsnap on holiday in Florida

ARM in arm with her loving husband Philip, Barbara Dewsnap enjoys the holiday of a lifetime with her family in Florida in June last year.

Just weeks later, the bubbly and popular 61-year-old healthcare assistant was dead.

Barbara had ovarian cancer, known as “the silent killer” but doctors did not spot the disease until it was too late to save her. Now Barbara’s daughter, Beverley Brannon, is determined that something positive should come out the tragedy.

JENNIFER HOLLAMBY reports

IT is sometimes at the most unexpected times when Beverley Brannon feels the loss of her mum most keenly.

“Me and my mum were very close and we used to go shopping on Saturdays. Now if I see a woman shopping with her mum, I feel an ache in my stomach.”

Sadly, it was during what should have been a dream family holiday that Barbara began to feel seriously ill.

Beverley explained: “I’d been with to Florida with my husband and children the year before and we’d absolutely loved it. I remember thinking how much my parents would have liked the place, so when I was made redundant from my last job, I used some of the money to pay for them to come out there with us.”

But just a few days in, Barbara, a mother of three and grandmother of four, began to experience stomach pains and swelling.

“At first I just thought it was the jet lag,” said Beverley.

“At the end of the first week, my mum couldn’t leave her room for about three days and then in the second week she just wasn’t herself. She couldn’t properly eat anything either.”

By the time Barbara got home she went to see her GP and asked to be referred to the Hospital, but the referral was not marked as urgent and in the end she had to go to to hospital herself and get herself admitted.

Beverley recalls: “She went to hospital in desperation because by this point she was in absolute agony and simply couldn’t keep any food down.”

Tests eventually confirmed that Barbara had ovarian cancer and she was moved to Christies.

But even then her close family still hoped for the best.

“Her hair started falling out after chemotherapy, so we thought that meant it was working,” said Beverley.

“Even now we can’t come to terms with what happened because it was all so quick. You hear of people living with cancer for years.”

But by this time Barbara’s cancer has spread to her stomach and lungs and she died on August 11.

Beverley said:”I think of mum every day and never expected to lose her so young.”

“And my dad is just a wreck.”

“He had to leave his job because he couldn’t cope. My mum was his soulmate. They were married to each other for 40 odd years.

“Like so many other couples of their age, they had worked all their lives, had just paid off their mortgage and were looking forward to their retirement together and now all that’s gone.”

But what has made the family’s pain even more acute is the fact that Barbara had been experiencing her symptoms since the January of that year and doctors had diagnosed her as suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Beverley said: “The doctor was treating her for IBS because the symptoms are similar and ovarian cancer is known as the silent killer because it is so hard to diagnose, but if they had just run some tests, they could have caught it in time and my mum might still be with us today.

“I don’t want anyone else to be fobbed off and I really want women to be aware of the symptoms because it’s a very serious disease.

“I know that my mum would have been really proud that we are holding a fundraiser to help other people.”

Beverley’s sporting fund-raiser Beverley’s fund-raiser will take place at the Royton Conservative Club on Saturday at 7.30pm.

A host of Royton businesses have generously donated raffle prizes and this year’s world snooker championship finalist Shaun Murphy will be attending to auction off tickets to the 2010 championships. Other sports memorabilia, including a signed photo of Ricky Hatton, will also be available to bid for on the night. All money raised will be split between Christie and the special care baby unit at the Royal Oldham Hospital. Phone 07878 510 683 for more details.



Key symptoms

these symptoms can also indicate other conditions, but always get them checked out just in case:

Persistent pelvic or abdominal pain

Increased abdominal size

Persistent bloating

Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly

Changes in bowel habit

Extreme fatigue

Urinary symptoms

Back pain

Visit www.targetovarian.org.uk  

for more guidance



CANCER FACTS

A recent UK-wide study carried out by the charity Target Ovarian Cancer shows that many women are dying unnecessarily because their diagnosis takes too long.

Ovarian cancer affects 6,800 women each year, and only 30 per cent of these women survive for five years, a statistic that has not improved in 30 years.

If the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, 90 per cent could survive.

At present, in three quarters of cases, the cancer has already spread by the time it is diagnosed.

Among 400 GPs surveyed as part of a Target Ovarian Cancer survey, 80 per cent wrongly think that women with early-stage ovarian cancer do not have any symptoms.

Less than two per cent of GPs picked out having difficulty eating as a symptom of ovarian cancer.