A young Nantwich woman is waging a one-person campaign to raise awareness of the cancer that killed her mum.
Rachel Joinson, 23, has launched a Facebook page and aims to run a support group to help people who went through the pain she experienced.
Her mum Flo, who worked at Hobson’s Choice in Nantwich, died aged 46 from pancreatic cancer.
At the time, Rachel hadn’t even heard of that type of cancer.
Now the former Brine Leas School student wants to make sure other young people who go through the same heartache can get support.
“My mum was the sort of woman who put everyone else before herself, she was well known in Nantwich by many and most people would remember her by as Flo or Wilf,” recalls Rachel.
“She was a smiley, bubbly character with a brilliant sense of humour.
“I don’t think anyone had a bad word to say about her.
“She had many good friends, who stuck by her through thick and thin, like Susan Roberts, Angela Burns, and Jo-Ann White, who sadly passed away three months before my mum.
“My mum was a helper and not a taker, she would help anyone in anyway she can if she could. She was the most loving woman you could imagine.
“But when she became ill she lost all of that, she wouldn’t do anything for herself and this left her depressed and frustrated.
“From being a woman who did everything to a woman who couldn’t even feed herself. This was heart-breaking for many close friends and family to see.”
Rachel admits her mum’s illness and death left her depressed. She began to self-harm, and wished she was dead not her mum.
“I hadn’t come across any other families that had been through this, I had never heard of pancreatic cancer before my mum was diagnosed with it.
“I had a counselling session but I felt it wasn’t for me,” she adds.
“It took a very long time for me to come to terms with it, as a lot of others would.
“The support from my girlfriend and my mum’s best friend Susan Roberts got me through and I will forever be grateful to them. Without them I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
At the time, though, Rachel was never made aware of any support groups or anyone she could turn to.
“I was never told about a local support group for this cancer, but I hope one day I can make one because I know what a relief it is to be surrounded by people who know exactly how you feel and what you’ve been through.
“If there was one around I think I’d have coped much better than what I did.”
Now three years on, Rachel says she gets through the days by “sharing awareness” and being supportive to people who have lost or going though similar pain.
“I am a member of many Facebook groups and they have helped me so much, we call ourselves the “Purple Family”.
“They are a great bunch of people and I’ll be for ever grateful to them for welcoming me in and helping me get involved.”
Rachel has now opened her own Facebook page which has links for people to find out more information.
November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
Those taking part are asked to where purple in honour of those who died or who are fighting the fifth biggest cancer killer in the UK.
Rachel is also planning a charity event to raise money and highlight the campaign further.
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