A WOMAN was unable to conceive after her mother died from a form of cancer she discovered by watching Coronation Street.
Bea Walton from Crewe (Chery) noticed that Bea had been urinating more than usual. Hayley Crpper also had the same symptoms.
The TV soap star’s storyline saw her diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and ending her own life in final scenes aired in January 2014.
Bea, a 60-year-old grandmother, thought something was wrong when she first saw it in 2015, according to her daughter, Nicola Smith.
Nicola, 46, told Cheshire Live: “She [Bea]A lot of people started to burp a lot.
“My mum actually watched an episode of Coronation Street, and I think it was Hayley on Coronation Street had had the same symptoms, so she sort of mentioned to the doctor…”
Bea went for scans and she was diagnosed with jaundice. Jaundice is when the skin or whites of the eyes turns yellow due to an issue with the liver.
This, along with the burping turned out to be because Bea was suffering from pancreatic carcinoma.
The symptoms of the disease include jaundice, feeling or being sick, changes in stools, pain in the stomach and back, and symptoms of indigestion – like burping and bloating.
It is also known to cause weight loss, fatigue, high temperature, and other common symptoms of cancer.
After Bea’s diagnosis in March 2015, she had a Whipple operation at North Staffordshire Hospital.
The Whipple Procedure is a complex operation that involves the removal of the head and various parts the bowel. It is often lifesaving for patients with pancreatic carcinoma.
Bea received chemotherapy at South Cheshire Hospital. Unfortunately, the treatment failed and her cancer spread to other areas of her body.
She also struggled to eat because of sores in her mouth from the chemotherapy.
Bea “carried on fighting till the end”Nicola, sadly, died in November 2016, at the age of 62.
Nicola said: “The youngest grandchild at the time, my Mum was determined to see her first birthday which was in the October.
“So she saw that and I think as soon as she saw her first birthday then that’s when she sort of, didn’t give up, but she knew she’d seen it and could rest.
“Maybe if my Mum had known that burping and the jaundice was a sign earlier on then they might have caught it and she might still be here now.
“I mean there are lucky ones out there. But it’s just really to get the signs and symptoms heard a bit more really.”
Nicola has shared her mum’s story as part of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the CDC, around 10,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. Pancreatic Cancer Action.
It has the lowest survival odds of all cancers – 9,000 patients die of it a year and only seven per cent live for at least five years.
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You can beat pancreatic carcinoma early by understanding the signs and symptoms