Despite her ovarian cancer diagnosis, Miranda Foley continued to work and support her family, of Wimbledon, southwest London, but her son’s “whole world came crashing down” when she died
A selfless mother who experienced bouts of “trapped wind” and “bloating” was actually dying of ovarian cancer, her heartbroken son has revealed.
Sam Foley’s “whole world came crashing down” when Miranda Foley, 56, passed away as Sam described the nursery nurse as “his best friend”. When she suffered bloating, she went to see her GP and referrals were made to hospital.
The brave mother-of-two and her husband Edward, also 56, initially battled on despite the bombshell to support and protect Sam, then aged 15, and his sister Annabel, then aged 20. However, Miranda’s condition spread and deteriorated after a lengthy journey with the illness and she died, leaving her family devastated. Ovarian cancer typically affects women aged 75 and over – but Sam now wants to remind Brits it can target anyone, despite how “unfair” it feels.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, grieving Sam said: “On that day, I lost my best friend and my mum, my whole world came crashing down. It just felt so unfair. It hit us all very hard. My dad had lost the mother to his children as well. You hear the word ‘cancer’ and your world stops. Nothing can prepare you for that day of losing someone. She was such a gentle, wonderful woman so that feeling of it being so unfair was hard. She was a healthy woman, she didn’t drink or smoke or anything. It was a stressful time.”
Miranda continued to work as a nursery nurse after her diagnosis, even continuing as a childminder when the cancer worsened. She had been healthy with no serious issues until she experienced bloating in the summer of 2018. This was a symptom of ovarian cancer, the sixth most common cause of cancer death in females in the UK. Statistics published by Cancer Research UK show it kills around 2,000 women each year.
Mum-of-two Miranda succumbed to the cancer on October 4, 2021, as it spread, despite her continuing to work and support her family. Sam, who was just 19 at the time of the tragedy, is now running London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise awareness for the cancer and money for its research.
Sam, who is now a teaching assistant at a primary school for children with special educational needs, added: “She was a loving, very soft and gentle woman. She was the person I could always go to for help, whether it was school related or with friends. She was just one of those mums who would listen to anything, listen to whatever either me or my sister wanted to talk about and she was very selfless woman.
“Even when she was ill, she would always put others first and put them as the priority, which was such a good thing even though anyone with illness must put themselves first at some points. She wasn’t like that though and that was such a quality. She was actually diagnosed one day before her birthday. I remember she was ill, and I thought ‘maybe it is one of those things, everyone gets ill sometimes’ but maybe I was naïve as I was young. She had bloating, which doctors thought at first was ‘trapped wind’ but she became very bloated and then had tests.”
A tumour was detected and, despite underwent several rounds of chemotherapy to try and reduce the size of the this, Miranda’s condition worsened over the course of the next three years. In May 2021, doctors gave the mum of two, from Wimbledon, southwest London, one year to live.
But the nursery teacher died within five months, a period Sam said “flew by” and the tragedy has had a profound effect on the family. Edward had lost his estate agency business one year before the death of his wife and, like his son, found it hard to grieve.
“I think men, particularly, struggle to express their emotions. I think men like to bottle things up. I still, to do this day, do the same thing and it’s not good. I think dad and I are similar like that and it’s probably not uncommon. It hit him very hard,” Sam, who has no children himself, continued.
“I’ve got pictures of mum taken during Christmas 2020, less than one year before her death, and she looks fine, she doesn’t look ill so it all happened quickly… It was the significant amount of bloating at first but that had gone by Christmas 2020 after the operation and chemotherapy.
“But it is important women don’t ignore bloating as that’s a sign, even if you feel it might be nothing because it wasn’t in mum’s case. Pain came with the bloating and I think that should be recognised more, but is sometimes ignored. It might be minor at first but it can worsen. It is such a common killer of women but more awareness could be done about it really.”
Mortality rates for ovarian cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 85 to 89, latest data from 2017-2019 shows. Each year almost half of all ovarian cancer deaths (45 per cent) in the UK are in females aged 75 and over, the same data indicates. Symptoms, particularly at these ages, include new pain in the pelvis, back or lower abdomen and urinating more frequently.
Sam wants to share his mother’s experience in a bid to flag ovarian cancer can affect any woman at any age. A woman in Colorado, US, died aged just 20 of the disease in November 2020. It is believed Peyton Linafelter was the youngest patient to ever receive the diagnosis when she was just 16 after falling ill on holiday. The main treatments for ovarian cancer are surgery and chemotherapy. Other treatments include targeted medicines and hormone treatments.
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving, said: “It is inspiring to see how Sam has courageously turned his own grief after losing his mum into something so meaningful. From everyone at JustGiving we wish Sam the very best of luck in reaching his fundraising goal for Target Ovarian Cancer and we look forward to cheering him on at the London Landmarks Half Marathon this weekend.”
Sam faces his 13-mile run on Sunday, April 7. To donate to his fund, visit this link.
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.
