Woman's warning over smoking after mum's devastating death

Anne Inness was diagnosed with the disease in 2012 having smoked heavily from the age of 13.

She had chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, made a good recovery and her five children assumed she was in the clear.

Tragically, Anne died in March 2017 at the age of 64, having told her family she was poorly again just one week before she passed away.

Anne with her daughter Laura Webster and son Richard Green (Image: UGC)Like her mum, Laura Webster, 38, also smoked from the age of 13 having picked up the habit with her friends at high school.

Laura, from Farsley, said: “My mum was an amazing person and it was absolutely devastating to lose her to lung cancer.

"When she was diagnosed a second time she didn’t want to worry any of us, so kept the news to herself."

Laura, who works for the Cats Protection charity, had tried many times to stop smoking and it was only the shock of her mum’s cancer diagnosis that made her quit.

She is mum to Chloe, 20, Zosia, six, and two-year-old Roman. Neither Zosia nor Roman had the chance to meet their grandma.

And devastatingly for Laura, Zosia was born just weeks after Anne died.

Another generation of the family has also missed out on getting to meet Anne as Laura’s daughter Chloe is now mum to baby Saskia.

Anne had five children (Image: UGC)

The family is backing Cancer Research UK’s ambitious cancer plan for how the next UK Government could help avoid around 1,700 cancer deaths a year in Yorkshire and The Humber by 2040.

Ahead of the next general election, Cancer Research UK has published Longer, Better Lives: A manifesto for research and care.

One of the plan’s five key missions is to end cancers caused by smoking by raising the age of sale of tobacco and funding a world-leading programme of measures to help people who smoke, quit. 

Laura and granddaughter Saskia (Image: UGC)Laura added: “There are so many pressures at the moment with funding and the state of cancer services across England, but the politicians must make sure that people affected by cancer don’t pay the price for this now and in the future.

“So many people’s lives are touched by this disease and the numbers are only growing. That’s why we all need to get behind this manifesto and have our voices heard so that more families like mine can enjoy more moments with the people they love.”

Rishi Sunak’ announced at the Conservative Party conference last month that he would effectively outlaw smoking among younger generations.

Proposed legislation for England will make it an offence for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009 to be sold tobacco products.