Mum, 42, whose cancer was mistaken for period dies

A mother who spoke out after being told her terminal cancer was due to heavy periods has died.

Kelly Pendry, 42, from Ewloe, Flintshire, was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2021, several years after becoming ill.

Her initial symptoms of "heavy, prolonged periods" and "a lot of pain" began in 2016.

During her illness the mother-of-two urged women with similar symptoms to demand further investigations from their doctor.

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare type of cancer which affects 600 people in the UK each year.

She said that when she first described her symptoms to a doctor she was told her body was "normalising " after pregnancy.

In March Kelly urged other women with concerns about their health to demand further investigations and wondered if things might have been different if she had been diagnosed earlier.

She was also prescribed anti-depressants and said she felt like “a drama queen”.

She was later diagnosed with benign fibroids and was told a hysterectomy was the best course of action, but the pandemic meant her follow-up appointments kept getting moved and the surgery never happened.

Kelly's husband Michael raised thousands of pounds by running from Ewloe to Bristol, hoping to pay for her to have the surgery in the USA.

She had the operation in the UK in June.

But her health - which the couple have documented on social media - continued to deteriorate.

In a post on Facebook, Michael Pendry said his “amazing and beautiful wife” died early on Sunday.

She “fought until the very end, her spirit and strength was incredible as always," he added.