Grieving husband who bravely shared picture of his dying wife online is stunned as Facebook suspend his account

On December 22 2016 Donna Lowe was diagnosed with cervical cancer
Mother-of-four later found it was terminal, dying in Milton Keynes months later
Her husband Elliott shared pictures of her online to urge others to get tested
Facebook have since suspended his account prompting sadness from Mr Lowe

By Rod Ardehali and Lara Keay For Mailonline

Published: 16:58 GMT, 24 December 2017 | Updated: 17:46 GMT, 24 December 2017

e-mail

View
comments

A widower who documented his wife's battle with cervical cancer online has lashed out at Facebook after admins suspended his account.

Elliott Lowe, 42, from Milton Keynes, posted two pictures of his late wife Donna to his page on Friday to raise awareness about cervical cancer.

Donna died in August this year, less than eight months after she was initially diagnosed, leaving four young children behind her.

A widower who documented his wife's battle with cervical cancer online has lashed out at Facebook after admins suspended his account. Elliott Lowe, 42, from Milton Keynes, posted two pictures of his late wife Donna to his page to raise awareness about cervical cancer

In his powerful series of Facebook posts, Elliott revealed his 32-year-old wife had postponed her last smear test and begged women to never make the same mistake.

The photos had already been shared across social media thousands of times and the number was still rising as people rushed to praise him for his bravery.

But soon after the post vanished - and Elliott says he 'dreads to think what people are thinking' now that his account has been suspended.

Elliott told The Mirror that his page had been suspended 'due to unusual activities on it as a security procedure' presumably because of the number of interactions on the post triggering safety measures.

In January the mother-of-four had further scans, which showed the disease had already spread to the lymph nodes in her pelvic region and was at the terminal 4B stage.

She underwent six weeks of daily radiotherapy sessions, but on August 5 this year she died at Willen Hospice, Milton Keynes. She was just 32.

Mr Lowe, 42, told the Daily Mirror: 'The children are struggling beyond words. My eldest is angry with everything, my disabled son still thinks she is coming home and my eldest daughter shuts herself away.

'My youngest daughter is very matter of fact and tells everyone that her mummy is in her heart and her head.

'I'm dreading Christmas. I have no idea what to expect or how the kids will react, I'm just going to have to play it by ear.'

Yesterday he posted two heartbreaking pictures of his wife on Facebook, one of them healthy and happy together and another showing the devastating effects of the disease.

In his powerful series of Facebook posts, Elliott revealed his 32-year-old wife had postponed her last smear test and begged women to never make the same mistake. The photos had already been shared across social media thousands of times and the number was still rising as people rushed to praise him for his bravery

He says his wife missed a smear test at the local cervical cancer screening centre and is begging women to make sure they don't make the same fateful mistake.

He wrote on Facebook: 'A year ago to date (22/12/2016) my beautiful wife, my best friend, the mother to our four beautiful children, my world, my soul mate in fact my everything was given a diagnosis by Milton Keynes Hospital that would devastate our lives and change it forever.

'Regretfully, on the morning of Saturday the 5th of August 2017, my beautiful wife passed away in my arms surrounded by our four young children, her mother, brother and sisters aged just 32 at Willen Hospice, Milton Keynes.

SHOULD I BE TESTED FOR CERVICAL CANCER?

The aim of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme is to reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer and the number of women who die from the condition.

Since the screening programme was introduced in the 1980s, the number of cervical cancer cases has decreased by about seven per cent each year.

All women who are registered with a GP are invited for cervical screening:

aged 25 to 49 – every 3 years

aged 50 to 64 – every 5 years

over 65 – only women who haven't been screened since age 50 or those who have recently had abnormal tests

Being screened regularly means any abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix can be identified at an early stage and, if necessary, treated to stop cancer developing.

But cervical screening isn't 100 per cent accurate and doesn't prevent all cases of cervical cancer.

Screening is a personal choice and you have the right to choose not to attend.

Source: NHS Choices

'I am sharing this with you today a year after her diagnosis to encourage everyone reading this to make sure that we take it upon ourselves to ensure that the special women in our lives in fact all women in our lives be they relatives or friends to attend their cervical screening (once called smears) and not to either miss them or forget to re-arrange.

'My wonderful wife postponed her last smear for reasons I can't even remember, believe me I've tried to remember and there's not a day goes by I wish I could swap places with her or wish I'd dragged her to the appointment and re-arranged it for her.

'Having already spoken to some of you here I know that some haven't had a smear in a number of years, I think the longest was 20 years.'

'Cervical screening (smear) takes only minutes. I am aware its not the most comfortable or dignified of experiences for women to go through but the consequences of missing one devastates live's for everyone connected and will do for generations to come.

'I wake up every morning alone, bring my kids up alone.. yes I have family around me supporting me, and I'm truly thankful for that, but it's never the same nor will it be.

'My wife missed her last cervical screen and paid the ultimate price she paid with her life.

'Let's not let other families go through this immense pain we face daily let's fight cancer together as early detection saves lives I know this as I'm still in contact with women and their families who were being treated at the same time as my wife and who have been given the all clear.'

The harrowing image of his wife in her hospital bed, gaunt with her mouth open her bones protruding from her chest.

Mr Lowe apologised if the images were distressing, but said he 'needed to demonstrate how devastating cancer is '.

The emotional post has been shared over 15,000 times.