Joshua Parfitt
SHARON Norrie tragically passed away last month at the untimely age of 41, from complications that began as cervical cancer.
The well-loved commercial director of Bay Radio, in Javea, became a household name during her four-year spell as a director of telecoms company Blu.
The ‘bubbly’ mother-of-one, however, was snatched too soon from a lesser-known cancer that was misdiagnosed by doctors.
“She had been bleeding out for a month, but the doctor told my mum it was just her period,” Sharon’s daughter Laura, 24, told the Olive Press
“When she didn’t stop bleeding, we took her for the smear test.
“The results came back that not only did she have cervical cancer, but ulcers that we found about far too late.”
Aged 36, Sharon had an immediate hysterectomy, but in the ensuing five-year heroic battle the world’s second biggest killer ended up spreading to her lungs.
“No one had a bad word to say about my mum,” Laura said.
“Everybody knows about breast cancer, but the cervical cancer that took her is still a mystery.
“A smear test can save your life – all it takes a visit to the gynaecologist.”
Laura said that women between 25 and 49 should have a test ‘every three years’.
She added that she is now fundraising for the Instituto Valenciano de Oncologia (IVO), in Valencia, which did ‘everything in its power’ to help her late mother.
“The IVO is Europe’s second-best hospital in cancer treatment,” Laura added.
The now administrator for Bay Radio, who moved to Spain in 1996, said Costa Blanca residents are ‘lucky’ for having such a strong institution so close by.
“My mum knew about smear tests, but she just wasn’t booked in for a check-up that year,” Laura said.
“Had she got checked in time, who knows how things could be different.”
Donate to Laura’s fundraiser by clicking here.
