Cancer fear mum hanged herself
AMOTHER who beat breast cancer hanged herself after wrongly fearing 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 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.
“She was a hard grafter, she would always cover people’s shifts and work late. She was a dental nurse and she went on to become a manager.
“Everyone knew she was really good at her job and she took it really seriously, maybe a little bit too seriously. She was really fatigued, she would have two to three hours sleep but, because of how she was, she would go straight into work.
“We had never argued, but on that night I wanted to go out with the lads because I was stressed when it was normally date night for us.”
Mr Mellor added: “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.
“I then put the ladders up to the back bedroom window but it was shut. I tried ringing her too, but there was 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 to me that she thought something is wrong. We went back to went back to the house, we were knocking on the door and we go 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 postmortem, she didn’t have one tiny bit of cancer in her body.”
In a statement 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.
“Her anxiety had recently been exacerbated because she found a lump in her breast - but she did not mention any plan to self harm. Dawn cited her partner, her daughter and other family members as protective factors against that.
“Dawn attended her first treatment session on July 9. She engaged well with that process and asked if future sessions could be held on a Monday due to her work schedule.
“No concerns were raised about her posing a risk to herself or others. Dawn, unfortunately, did not attend the second treatment session because she had already passed away.”
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.
“She identified the problem and worked with a therapist, but, regrettably, she died before the second session.
“I am satisfied that she took her own life, but the intention remains unclear. I want to put on the record my condolences to you - I know your pain will never go away.”
‘I am satisfied that she took her own life, but the intention remains unclear’