THE family of a ‘perfect’ mum-of-three who was diagnosed with terminal cancer after years of pain and died on New Year’s Day have vowed to ‘fight tooth and nail’ to get answers.
Lois Wistow, 38, went back and forth with doctors before receiving her diagnosis which goes back well before the birth of her youngest son Ray, named because he was a ‘ray of sunshine’ in heartbreakingly dark times.
She told the Chronicle last year that she had suspected skin cancer in 2018, but it was seemingly treated and it was after her second son Ronnie’s birth she began to develop what were passed off as digestive issues.
She would later learn she had a rare mutation in her BRCA1 gene which makes people much more susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer and Ray was born surrounded by cancer.
Doctors found cancer in her ovaries, her abdomen lining and lymph nodes.
Generous residents raised £6,000 in her name for Cancer Research UK just a few days after she was diagnosed, prompting a Herculean effort which eventually saw almost £10,000 donated.
Describing her as the ‘warmest’ person you could meet, Megan Keating-Walker paid tribute to her late sister.
She told the Chronicle: “She was the most kind-hearted woman you could ever meet. She always said what she thought and was so strong-headed. She handled everything in her stride since her diagnosis, the strongest woman we will ever know, with what she went through.
“Lois lit up rooms with her smile and her infectious laughter. She would have done anything for anyone.
“The most perfect mother you could ever wish to be and the love she had for her children was the most pure and beautiful love.
“You’d never see her sitting down, she was always busy and so full of life.
“She lived life to the fullest and loved her life with her husband Dale, their walks, camping trips and little family adventures. She was the happiest she had ever been when she was diagnosed and we won’t ever be able to understand why.”
After her prognosis worsened last year, she married her partner Dale Wistow at the town hall in July surrounded only by witnesses.
Lois died on January 1, leaving behind her husband Dale, children Cole, Ronnie and Ray, sisters Kelly, Megan, Lydia and Chellie, brothers Ryan, Luke and Josh, dad Ronnie Walker and mum Sue Heatherglen.
In a statement from the family, they say they will fight ‘tooth and nail’ to get the answers they deserve.
“We know it is the norm to ‘celebrate life’ when a loved one passes away but this is not a celebration of life to us,” they said.
“This is a monumental loss in our family and life will never be the same again.
“We cannot help but feel bitterness and anger towards this situation because things could have been different and our Lois would still be here today.
“However, the reality is, she is not and now her children are left without a mother, her husband is left without a wife, her mum and dad are left without a daughter and her brothers and sisters are left without a sibling and for this we are truly devastated.
“We will fight tooth and nail to get her story heard and the appropriate people will be held accountable for their actions.
“All we can do now is come together as a family, support each other and get each other through this hard time.
“We will carry our Lois with us forever and her spirit will live on through her children.”
