The wife of one of our BAYSE members  Russ, Deb Scanlon, was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 bowel cancer during lockdown in May 2020. Being told there was nothing that could be done surgically chemo was her only option & even with that she only had 18-24 months, without it only 6. Devastated was not the word. With two young kids 7 & 5 at the time & a global pandemic meaning diagnosis & treatment on her own without anyone to hold her hand, give her a hug, it couldn’t really have been worse.

A year later the chemo worked wonders & the multidisciplinary team across Warrington, Halton, Liverpool & Clatterbridge decided to reconsider surgery & in April 2021 Deb underwent surgery to remove the primary bowel tumour, pancreas tumour, her spleen & a full hysterectomy. In June 2021 she underwent her first lung ablation to remove 2 tumours on her right lung, following which she just never seemed to recover & the pain continued to get worse. 

In September 2021 she found out the cancer had spread to the bones… ribcage, pelvis & spine & then following a collapse at home in November 2021, the worst news yet - it has also spread to the brain. Even at that stage Debs was resolute & she started 5 sessions of whole brain radiotherapy on 15th December. 

On 17th December Deb was taken ill at home & taken to Warrington General by ambulance. Having developed a clot on her lung there was nothing the medical team could do & she died in Russ’s arms at 6.56am on Saturday 18th December.

RUSS SCANLON - Our lives will never be the same again, we miss her so much. We are now making it our mission to raise awareness of Bowel Cancer and help fund vital research and treatment so hopefully one day no other family has to go through what we have. As a family we've already raised over £12k for Bowel Cancer UK and The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, and for Debs legacy event in DEBruary 2022 our amazing #TeamScanlon raised £25k for The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity. 

Deb was treated at St. Rocco’s & it was planned they would also provide end of life care for her had she got that far. St. Rocco’s continue to provide bereavement counselling to Russ & their two children who are 9 & 7 and Russ is an avid fundraiser for the hospice and is taking part in a number of challenges to support them this year, including our Dragonboat race. Please spare whatever you can for this amazing place. Thank you.