A devoted dad-of-two died after complaining of a pain in his head.
Shaun Loughran, originally from Runcorn, was 42 years old when he died at his home in Prestatyn on October 17. Everton FC fan Shaun spent the last three years of his life battling cancer, having first been diagnosed with bowel cancer back in January 2020.
He underwent multiple rounds of treatment at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool and Glan Clwyd Hospital in Wales. Shaun was told the devastating news the cancer had spread to his liver and abdomen on the first day of his honeymoon in September last year.
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The following month he was diagnosed with a brain tumour which was removed at the Walton Centre. Despite everything he was going through, Shaun’s sister Siobhan said he was responding well to treatment and had been referred for an operation on his liver just weeks before he died.
Siobhan, 35, said: “After he’d been given that positive news he’d been getting pains in his head. On October 17 he had one of those pains in his head.”
Paramedics and an air ambulance were called to Shaun’s home but despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead. He leaves behind his wife Jenni, 38, and children Grace, nine, and Oliver, six.
A Gofundme page has been set up by Shaun’s friends to support his family at this devastating time. Paying tribute, Siobhan described Shaun as an “amazing person” who was “courageous and charismatic”.
She said: “He was such a devoted dad. In the past four years, since Oliver was two, he’s been living with cancer. From the point of diagnosis it was through lockdown, covid, and I think he was very grateful for the quality time he got to spend with his children through that time.
“Like Jenny (his wife) said, the children never knew Shaun was living with cancer – it was never spoken about. Even on his worst days he would always make sure he was sat downstairs ready for them to come home from school and to talk about their day.
“Through the period of time he’s had cancer and many dark moments, there’s always been a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of positive news. It was never diagnosed as terminal.
“The amount of people that have messaged or Facebooked me and said even though Shaun was having a rough time, he was always making sure he was thinking of others and tried to keep them positive.”
Shaun raised more than £4,000 for Cancer Research by taking part in The Bobby Moore Fund’s keepy-uppy challenge last year. The 42-year-old married Jenni in Turkey last August, on the beach where Shaun had proposed years earlier. The couple had been together for more than 20 years.
More than 400 people packed out the Marble Church in Bodelwyddan, Wales, for the Everton fan’s funeral on Friday, November 3. Siobhan said: “The amount of people that came out to pay their respects to him was massively overwhelming.
“He was very much a down to earth, family oriented man. He always had a massive smile on his face and a great sense of humour.
“He was always up for a joke. He loved a good debate and was never scared to speak his mind. He always stood up for what he believed was right.” To visit the Gofundme page click here.
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Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
