A WOMAN has tragically died after tests failed to catch her killer cancer in time.
Karen Spencer, was just 52 when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and given just weeks to live.
Karen Spencer, 52, from, Cheshire, who died from lung cancerMEN Media
MEN MediaKaren Spencer (right), 52, pictured with her daughter Rachael Wilson and granddaughter Isla[/caption]
MEN MediaKaren with her granddaughter Isla and grandson Lucas[/caption]
“Everything has happened so quickly,” her daughter Rachael Wilson, told Cheshire Live.
“We were still trying to get our heads around the fact mum had cancer and before we knew it, she was on end of life care.”
Karen, from Cheshire, had multiple visits to the doctors while complaining of a cough and back pain.
But chest X-ray scans came back normal and she was given given an inhaler and nasal spray to treat her symptoms.
In October, she became more unwell and started to lose her appetite.
Initially, the teaching assistant thought she had caught a bad virus.
But in November, crippling chest pains landed her in hospital.
After a couple of days of tests, she was told on November 9 that she had stage four lung cancer, which had spread to her liver, spine and pelvis.
In 2021, lung cancer was the fifth biggest cause of death overall in the country, claiming 26,410 lives.
The disease is much more treatable if caught in the early stages.
By this point, the mum was in a lot of pain and on a high amount of morphine to ease her pain, but tried to return home for Christmas to see her family.
According to Rachel, her mum loved to spend time with her grandchildren, Lucas, 12, and three-year-old Isla.
Unsure of how long Karen had left, Rachael and her partner Nick decided to book their wedding for December 23.
But Karen’s condition started to deteriorate and just two weeks after coming home she ended up back in hospital where she was “constantly” on oxygen.
She wanted to be at home with her family so the hospital bed was moved there and oxygen was delivered.
Rachael remembers asking the doctors if it meant her mum was ‘coming home to die’, to which they replied: “We think so, it won’t be long.”
Sadly, the wedding had to postponed as Karen had become too ill.
After speaking with a nurse from Macmillan, Karen agreed to move into St Luke’s Hospice.
She was there for one week and died on December 20.
Paying tribute to her mum, Rachael said: “She was a funny, loud and quirky lady who said it how it was! She loved gardening – growing sunflowers and lilies as well as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers in her green house.”
After Karen’s death, Rachael launched a Go Fund Me to raise money for St Luke’s and set a target of £1,000 but it has now already raised £1,660.
MEN MediaA ‘funny, loud and quirky’ grandmother died just days before Christmas – only six weeks after receiving a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis. Karen Spencer, a teaching assistant from Barnton, Cheshire, died on December 20 last year, aged 52. Caption: Karen Spencer (right), 52, from Barnton, Cheshire, who died from lung cancer on 20 December 2022, pictured […][/caption]
What are the symptoms of lung cancer?
There are eight important signs to look out for, according to the NHS:
1. A cough that doesn’t go away after two or three weeks
2. A long standing cough that gets worse
3. Persistent chest infections
4. Coughing up blood
5. An ache or pain when breathing or coughing
6. Persistent breathlessness
7. Persistent tiredness or lack of energy
8. Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss