‘I JUST WANT TO ENSURE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE IS MORE THAN A STATISTIC’
Lesley’s raising awareness of devastating disease that killed her husband at just 49
A WOMAN whose husband died 33 days after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is using a series of podcast stories to raise awareness of the disease.
Lesley Goodburn wants to do all she can to make people more aware of the disease, having raised more than £50,000 in memory of her husband Seth since he died seven years ago.
Lesley, from Kidsgrove, has teamed up with podcaster Charlotte Foster to record 30 episodes, one of which is being broadcast every day this month. They are being aired to coincide with Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
She said: “Like every November I’ll be wearing purple to sparkle for my Seth. He really was the love of my life and there’s not a day goes by that I don’t miss him or wish he was here.
“He was just 49 and we had so much planned to celebrate his 50th birthday which we never got to do.”
Her husband’s death inspired Lesley to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK. She has trekked the Great Wall of China, held charity balls, sold a series of commemorative ceramics and launched previous podcasts to raise money and awareness.
In the new podcasts, she and Charlotte explore how people support each other online and physically after a diagnosis, how people cope with the loss of a loved one, sharing memories of those who have sadly died, the support available as well as focusing on the research community.
“Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose as there are often no symptoms in the early stages,” said Lesley.
“People are often diagnosed, like Seth, at an advanced stage, with 52 per cent of people being diagnosed at stage four. One in four people don’t survive more than a month and 80 per cent don’t live beyond a year so the statistics are a very frightening reality.
“When Seth was diagnosed, we knew the outlook wasn’t good. The survival rates of pancreatic cancer have barely changed in 50 years.
“In the UK 24 people die from pancreatic cancer every day, my Seth was one of them, but I don’t want him to be a number.
“Ever since his death I’ve wanted to make sure he wasn’t just a statistic. My legacy to him has always been to raise awareness of this deadly disease and to campaign to help get better outcomes for patients. The podcasts are all about raising awareness, sharing often very emotional, personal stories and hopefully helping to make a difference.”
A series of letters Lesley wrote to talk about Seth’s final days have also been turned into a play, to help improve end of life care within the healthcare sector. The play will be performed live and online this week to students of physiotherapy AECC University College in Bournemouth and students of social work and oncology at the University of Washington in the United States.
To find out more go to pancreaticcancer.org.uk/getinvolved/make-a-difference/ pancreatic-cancer-awarenessmonth-pcam/