East Kilbride mum who lost ex-husband and stepdad to pancreatic cancer commits to raise awareness of disease

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire mum who lost her ex-husband and stepdad to pancreatic cancer has spoken out on her determination to raise awareness of the need for more research.Claire McEwan, 46, from East Kilbride, lost both, her stepdad, Billy, and her ex-husband, Stephen, to pancreatic cancer.Tragically, each died within a year of diagnosis, and now Claire is determined to raise awareness of the need for more research.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Claire’s dad died when she was young, so Billy, a local butcher and fitness fanatic, was the only father she had ever known.

He was working and going to the gym regularly despite being in his late seventies.So, when during a phone call to home while on holiday she leant that Billy had been in hospital with pain and jaundice, it came as a real shock.Claire said: “When we came home, my mum said, on your way past, can you drop in?

It was one of those things that I, definitely, definitely wasn't prepared for.“I went in, and Billy said that it was cancer, and I genuinely felt like someone had hit me in the chest. "I remember just sort of dropping onto the chair backwards and not really taking it in, because Billy was the last person I ever expected it from.”Doctors discussed surgery to remove the tumour, but first, Billy had to have chemotherapy.