A WIRRAL woman whose mum died from lung cancer has recalled her final moments as part of a campaign to help cut the number of deaths from the disease.
The call from Sally Griffiths follows analysis from Cancer Research UK estimates that tobacco causes the death of one person in the North West every 40 minutes.
Sally has seen first-hand the devastating impact of smoking.
Her mum, Sybil Eaton, who smoked from the age of 14, went on to smoke 20 a day for most of her life before she died from lung cancer in 2010 aged 71, just six weeks after being diagnosed.
Sally, a 52-year-old HR officer from Lower Heswall, said: "I held mum's hand as she slipped away. The whole thing knocked our family for six, especially my dad, they’d been married for 47 years when mum died.
"Now there is a gaping hole where mum used to be."
"I never want anyone else to go through what my dad, my sister and I went through watching her deteriorate."
Sally is sharing her story to encourage people in Wirral and across Merseyside to sign a Cancer Research UK petition online here – as part of its Smokefree UK campaign - which calls on the Government for more support to help people quit smoking.
The charity is urging the Prime Minister to set up a 'Smokefree Fund' to pay for vital interventions, like stop-smoking services and public health campaigns, and says the tobacco industry should be made to foot the bill for the damage it causes – not taxpayers.
Sybil, who lived in Shropshire with Sally’s dad, Ron, was diagnosed with cancer after complaining of pain in her arm.
Following a varied working life as a cleaner, cashier, and factory worker, Sybil was enjoying her retirement when she started to get a dull ache in her arm that wouldn’t go away.
Sally and retired carpenter Ron, now 84, eventually convinced Sybil to go to the GP to get checked out.
When initial examinations were inconclusive, she was sent for blood tests, which showed very high calcium levels.
Sybil was then admitted to The Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, for further tests, and a scan revealed that she had a secondary brain tumour.
Soon after, doctors confirmed that the primary cancer was in her lungs.
Sybil never returned home from the hospital, and she sadly died six weeks later.
Sally, who has taken part in the Wirral Race for Life every summer for the past 13 years in memory of her mum, added: “My mum had smoked most of her life since being 14, and it killed her eventually. We looked at the X-rays and there were dark masses everywhere.
"Because the cancer was so far advanced, there was nothing the doctors could do. We just had to wait for the inevitable to happen.
"I am very thankful that I was with her when she died so that she didn't die alone, and I was able to tell her how much I loved her and that I’d look after our family now."
She continued: "People are paying with their lives for the current lack of funding and support to quit smoking and it's got to stop.
"That's why I'm backing this vitally important campaign and hope I can inspire others to do the same.
"We must do what we can to protect the next generation from a future of ill-health and disease by stubbing out smoking for good."
In the North West, around 14.4 percent of people still smoke which is above the England average.
The Government has set a target for England to be 'smoke-free' by 2030 - defined as less than five percent of the adult population smoking.
However, they are not on track to meet this ambition and Cancer Research UK estimates that smoking rates need to drop a staggering 70 percent faster than currently projected for this to happen.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jemma Humphreys said: "The figures are shocking, and we can’t help watching the clock.
"For every day the Government fails to act hundreds of lives will be needlessly lost across the country.
"Smoke-filled pubs, colourful cigarette packets and cigarette vending machines are all now things of the past.
"But from Sally’s experience, it’s clear the distressing toll of tobacco is not - so we’re grateful to her for rallying people in Wirral and across Merseyside to help make smoking history.
"Many of us know friends and family whose lives are at risk, or have lost loved ones to smoking, so we hope that as many supporters as possible will sign our vital petition to the Prime Minister.
"In a world without cancers caused by smoking, we can make more moments that matter and help people live longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of this devasting disease."
To sign Cancer Research UK's Smokefree UK petition click here
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