Cancer advert girl’s deathbed wedding
THE pancreatic cancer sufferer who provoked outrage by declaring she wished she had breast cancer instead, was married just three days before she died.
Kerry Harvey, 24, had planned to wed Matt Biggins in May. But her condition worsened suddenly and the couple exchanged rings and vows in front of family members in an emotional bedside ceremony.
Kerry, from Chichester, West Sussex, died in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth hospital last Saturday, less than a year after being diagnosed. She received hate messages last month after she appeared in the campaign to highlight the poor survival rates of pancreatic cancer compared to other forms of the disease.
Last night, Matt, 30, said he would be continuing her campaign, adding that he had been ‘humbled’ by the messages of support Kerry’s family has received.
He said his wife’s condition had deteriorated rapidly and he and her mother Eileen were told she had just three days left. ‘It was a massive shock,’ said Matt. ‘Kerry hadn’t been that ill but doctors had decided she wasn’t well enough to continue with chemotherapy and she then had difficulty swallowing and her speech was slightly slurred.
‘The doctors told me Kerry’s body was shutting down.
‘We didn’t know how we were going to tell her but Eileen had a long chat with her and explained what was happening.
‘We decided to get married immediately and I went out and bought the rings, my mum and dad came from Wales with my wedding suit and a registrar came to the hospital on Wednesday. Sadly, Kerry never got to wear her wedding dress because she was too ill, but she did really well saying her vows with her sister Amy and my brother Patrick as witnesses and about 20 of us from the family.’
Kerry was so determined to remain conscious during the tenminute service that doctors agreed to postpone increasing her painkilling medication.
A ‘breakthrough’ drug which prolongs the lives of pancreatic cancer patients could be given the go-ahead to be prescribed on the NHS this week. Abraxane, which prolongs life by two months on average, will be considered for inclusion on the list of approved medicines on Thursday.