Tragedy of cancer fear mum
WOMAN TOOK HER OWN LIFE AFTER HAVING BEATEN DISEASE
A MOTHER who beat breast cancer and hanged herself in her daughter’s wardrobe wrongly feared she would be struck down by a recurrence of the deadly illness, an inquest heard.
Dental nurse Dawn Cheetham, 43, had overcome the disease with chemotherapy treatment in 2015 but had become worried after she started developing pains and cramps in her stomach.
She became depressed, and in July this year she had an argument with her partner, Jonathan Mellor, when he went out with his friends instead of having a date night with her.
He was locked out of their home in Wardle, near Rochdale, and kicked down the door when Miss Cheetham failed to answer his calls.
Mr Mellor found her dead.
A post mortem examination later showed there were no traces of cancerous cells.
The Heywood hearing was told Miss Cheetham, the manager at the dental practice, and Mr Mellor had been together for 17 years and had been living together since 2010. They had a daughter together who is now eight.
Mr Mellor said: “Dawn was bubbly, a good laugh and a lovely lady. But in 2014, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. She had chemotherapy and she got through it. But this was constantly on her mind and it was a major issue. “Every little bit of pain or a stomach cramp, she thought it was the cancer coming back – and I think that’s why she did what she did. “The last time I saw her was on Friday, July 13. We had never argued, but on that night I wanted to go out with the lads because I was stressed, when it was normally a date night for us. “I came home after last orders at about 12am. I tried to get in the house but I couldn’t as she had left the keys in the front door. I thought she did it as punishment, so I just slept in the car – but woke up at about 5am and I went back to the house and knocked on the door, but got no answer. “So, I went to my parents – I just didn’t think there was any cause for concern – I just thought she was just being stubborn. “But my mum went around and she said that she thought something is wrong. We went back to the house, we were knocking on the door and we got no answer. “So I kicked the door through and went upstairs and I walked into my little girl’s room and I found her. “When they did the post-mortem, she didn’t have one tiny bit of cancer in her body.’’ Dr Sarah Kelly, a psychologist at Pennine Care, said: “Dawn had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone chemotherapy in 2015. She said that she was worried about her daughter as her daughter had witnessed her feeling unwell.
“She said she wanted psychiatric help for herself, specifically for the benefit of her daughter. No concerns were raised about her posing a risk to herself or others.”
Recording a conclusion of death by suicide, coroner Lia Hashmi said: “I think the argument with Jonathan was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I think it was an accumulation of events that will have led to the significant variation in her state of mind.
“She was a dedicated, hard working and intelligent woman. I am quite sure that all the issues, including her cancer and depression, had a significant variation on her mind – but it can’t be said for sure if one, or even any, brought about the circumstances of her death.
“I am satisfied that she took her own life, but the intention remains unclear.”
Dawn was bubbly, a good laugh and a lovely lady Jonathan Mellor, Dawn’s partner