The grieving family of a teaching assistant never imagined that her cough and back pain were symptoms of a fatal illness.
Karen Spencer lost her fight for life a week before Christmas after discovering she had cancer on November 9.
Daughter Rachael Wilson said she had a persistent cough and problems with her back before she was diagnosed.
Her family are still trying to take in what happened and process the tragedy.
CheshireLive reports Rachael said: "Everything has happened so quickly.
"We were still trying to get our heads around the fact mum had cancer and before we knew it, she was on end of life care."
Karen had multiple visits to the doctors and a chest X-ray came back normal and she was given given an inhaler and nasal spray.
But in October, she became more unwell and started to lose her appetite.
Initially she thought she had caught a bad virus, but started having chest pains at the beginning of November and husband Nigel took her to A&E at Leighton Hospital after she almost collapsed.
After a couple of days of tests, she was told on November 9 that she had stage four lung cancer.
Rachael said: "By this point mum was in a lot of pain and on a high amount of morphine.
"The consultant and doctors spoke to me, my mum and Nigel and explained the cancer had already spread to mum's liver, spine and pelvis.
"We asked how long they thought mum had. They said they wouldn't know until they found out the type of cancer mum had and a biopsy of the liver would be done."
The gran was able to go back home for a short while and during that time, the family put the Christmas tree up.
Her daughter and her partner Nick also decided to book their wedding for December 23.
Rachael added: "Mum came with me to choose my wedding dress, which is a truly special moment I will treasure forever."
But Karen's condition started to deteriorate and she ended up back in hospital where she was 'constantly' on oxygen.
The doctors believed the cancer had spread to her brain but Karen declined any more tests.
She wanted to be at home with her family so the hospital bed was moved there and oxygen was delivered.
Rachael remembers asking the doctors if it meant her mum was 'coming home to die', to which they replied: "We think so, it won't be long.
Her daughter added: "Mum was a fighter. She was always a strong, determined lady and we got to spend almost two weeks at home with her where me and Nigel cared for her.
"I stayed over in my old room. Mum kept apologising as she was so used to caring for us and having the roles reversed was heartbreaking for us all."
Rachael and Nick had to postpone the wedding as Karen had become too ill. Rachael said she was 'devastated' but that she would 'always cherish' the memory of her mum seeing her in the wedding dress when they chose it together.
After speaking with a nurse from Macmillan, Karen agreed to move into St Luke's Hospice. She was there for one week and died on December 20.
Paying tribute to her mum, Rachael said: "She was a funny, loud and quirky lady who said it how it was! She loved gardening - growing sunflowers and lilies as well as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers in her green house."
She added that Karen 'loved her job' working as a teaching assistant at Russet School in Weaverham, where they have planted a tree in her memory. She also loved spending time with her grandchildren - Lucas, 12, and three-year-old Isla - when they stayed over on most weekends.
Rachael said: "Mum and her husband Nigel would go to Llandudno every year, stay in the same hotel and eat at the same pub.
"People would suggest trying somewhere new but mum loved to stick to what she knew and enjoyed!"
After Karen's death, Rachael launched a Go Fund Me to raise money for St Luke's and set a target of £1,000 but it has now already raised £1,660.
Rachael said: "St Luke's were just amazing. All the staff would talk to us to see if we were OK and whether we needed anything.
"They treated mum with dignity and respect and I could see they genuinely cared. They pampered Mum, painting her toe nails and giving her a massage.
"Before going there with Mum, I had never been to St Luke's Hospice and didn't really know much about them. But it's such a special place and I'm so pleased to have raised so much for them already."
