Marites Hadden

I'm Moving It this September!

This September, and always, I am remembering my beautiful mum.  I lost my Mum on April the 8th 2022, to Pancreatic Cancer.

My mum had 2 years after her initial diagnosis, she was one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, many people don’t have that long.  My mum managed those 2 year on fortnightly chemo treatments and had 8+ hour surgery to remove most of her pancreas, her spleen, bile duct, part of her stomach and lymph nodes.  She went through more chemo but 6 months after the surgery, the cancer returned in her liver.

My mum never complained, she was strong and brave right until the end. If you have lost someone close to cancer, you will know how difficult the fight is and how awful it can be.

At the end of March my mum was moved to palliative care, she was there for 4 weeks. I sat with her every day, some days for up to 12 hours. My mum refused Morphine, she wanted to stay fully alert; she wanted to be with us.  The nurses said she would have been in excruciating pain. Then it became too much, my mum told us she was ready to go, she said her goodbyes; she asked for those nearest and dearest to visit with her.  Those last days were hard. There were lots of tears. Lots and lots of tears. I was there when my mum took her last breath. I sobbed. The hardest and saddest day of my life.  My mum was gone.  I sat for what felt like hours just holding her hand after she had passed. Leaving the hospital that night in the dark was the most surreal moment.  She was gone.   I still think about her and cry. Life is not the same without her.

In Australia, in 2022, 63 people died each week from Pancreatic Cancer. This year that figure has risen to 68. That is 68 too many.  

I want to help raise funds for life saving Pancreatic Cancer research to improve survival rates and quality of life for those affected by this disease. More work needs to be done on early detection, often this cancer is not detected until it is too late.

Please, please donate to this cause that is very close to my heart.

Please feel free to share this post, I would love to raise as much money as I can for Pancreatic Cancer research.