Mum with stomach and back pain dies just one week after diagnosis

Mum with stomach and back pain dies just one week after diagnosis Maria Mason had put it down to arthritis A family have been left devastated after a “courageous and beautiful” mum died just one week after being diagnosed. Maria Mason, from Ramsgate, Kent, had been suffering with stomach pains and back discomfort, which she put down to arthritis. But doctors at the QEQM Hospital in Margate delivered the shocking news that the 57-year-old grandmother had pancreatic cancer. Further tests revealed the disease had already spread to her lungs, stomach and lymph nodes. Tragically, she died at the Pilgrims Hospice one week later on July 23. Maria’s only child, Kay Mason-Johnson, told KentOnline her mum “fought bravely and deserved so much more time”. Her death came as a huge shock to the family. “We've still not really got our heads around it fully, because we were just trying to take in the fact that she's got cancer and then the next minute, we're now going to have to do pain management and end-of-life care,” Kay said. “After a week of staying at the hospice with her, I was saying goodbye. Nothing could have prepared me for losing her so suddenly.” Kay, 37, said her mum was “a fighter”. “She was so strong, and she's hilarious - she's got the funniest sense of humour,” she said. “She had the biggest heart and would help anyone she could, even when she had very little herself. “She wasn’t defined by her struggles; she was defined by her love, her strength, and the way she kept fighting. Even in her final days, she showed courage that left everyone who knew and met her in awe.” Kay said Maria fell on hard times after she lost her “soulmate” Derek Saunders - Kay’s stepdad - 25 years ago. The couple had been together for 10 years and enjoyed holidays to Thailand together. “That was their little escapism. It was their happy place,” Kay said. “They met when I was just two years old and in him she found the love and happiness she’d always deserved. They were soulmates. When Derek passed away, a part of Mum went with him and she was never truly the same again.” After his death, Kay and Maria travelled to Thailand to scatter his ashes. “She's never forgotten him,” Kay said. “Her final wish was to have her ashes scattered in Thailand so they could finally be together again. More than anything, we want to make that wish come true.” The family is fundraising to travel to Thailand and fulfil Maria’s request. The grandmother-of-one’s sudden decline also meant she did not have anything left behind financially to pay for her funeral. Donations can be made via GoFundMe. Kay added: “If you’re able to spare even £1, every single donation will help us give Mum the farewell she deserves.” Maria is also survived by her brother Carl and sister Helen.