The shocking speed at which colon cancer claimed Lynda Bellingham's life

Lynda Bellingham died from colon cancer, which kills nearly 700,000 people worldwide each year

Lynda Bellingham died from colon cancer - the fourth biggest cancer killer worldwide, causing on average 694,000 deaths each year.

In countries such as the UK and U.S., more than 80 per cent of cases occur in people aged 60 or over, such as Lynda.

 

The actress and TV presenter had been diagnosed with colon cancer a little over a year ago. The disease later spread to her lungs and liver.

Despite knowing she may only have weeks to live, her death was quicker than many had expected.

Lynda, 66, was expecting to live until January 2015, and had planned to spend one last Christmas with her family.

Writing in The Mail on Sunday last month, she said: ‘I would love to make one more Christmas, if possible, but I want to stop taking chemo around November in order to pass away by the end of January.’ 

Her death came just days after she made an emotional return to TV show Loose Women  - where she used to be a panellist - for one final appearance. 

This morning, it was announced the much-loved actress and TV presenter died yesterday.

Her husband Michael was by her side in a London hospital.

Such a rapid decline is unusual, but not uncommon, oncologist Professor Karol Sikora told MailOnline.

He said: 'It's how most cancer patients want to die - where the final episode is very short.

He explained there are many reasons why cancer patients die. Ultimately, however, as the cancer grows, the burden becomes too much for the body.

'In the end, multi-system failure occurs - with vital organs such as the liver and kidneys slowing down and then packing up. 

'No one knows exactly what causes it.'

He added that different patients die at different stages of the disease. This may be the differences in biochemistry, or sometimes, a will to live.

'There are people who realise they aren't going to make it, just curl up and want to die.

'Then there are those who are the opposite - they want to make it to their daughter's wedding, make themselves live and die shortly afterwards.'

Lynda Bellingham says she wants to be remembered happy (archive)

Lynda's death came just days after the she made an emotional return to the TV show Loose Women for one final appearance, where she appeared lively and in good spirits

The spread of the cancer - known as metastasis - is very often what ends up killing patients.

Metastasis is when cells from a tumour separate from it, find their way into the lymph system or the bloodstream, and spread throughout the body.

Particular types of tumours often spread to particular organs. In bowel cancer patients, it tends to be the liver.

This is because the main vein that drains the bowel goes to the liver, explains Professor Sikora, founder of Cancer Partners UK.  

This can disrupt the delicate balance of chemicals and salts in the body - with fatal consequences.

When cancer spreads to the lungs, there is eventually insufficient healthy tissue to absorb oxygen.

Cancer can block off part of the lung. This area may collapse and become infected, which can lead to death.

'However it is possible there was a medical emergency,' he adds. 'The bowel may have become obstructed - there could have been internal bleeding.' 

Cancer patients are also more likely to suffer from blood clots. If a clot gets into the lung, for example, it can trigger a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. 

Lynda, with sons Michael, Robert, her step-son Bradley and husband Michael, had wanted to spend one last Christmas with her family 

Lynda Bellingham collects her OBE and poses with family

Bowel cancer does also not respond as well to chemotherapy as some other cancers, such as breast, explained Professor Sikora. 

This is because it very quickly becomes resistant to it. 

Appearing on ITV's This Morning two weeks ago, Lynda discussed how she had planned to stop chemotherapy in November, due to the severe side effects she had suffered. 

She said: 'There's no getting away from it with chemo - the ulcers in your throat, the thrush, plus the fact I'd had major, life-saving surgery for a perforated colon.

COLON CANCER CANCER: THE FACTS

Colon cancer is also referred to as bowel cancer or rectal cancer. 

In countries such as the UK and U.S., more than 80 per cent of cases occur in people aged 60 or over, such as Lynda. 

People who are older, who eat a diet low in fibre and high in fat, those who are overweight and those who take little exercise are most at risk.

Smoking, alcohol and a family history of the disease also increase the risk.

The cancer can present itself in a number of ways, explains Dr Stuart Riley, a consultant gastroenterologist, and clinical director of the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in South Yorkshire.

‘The usual symptoms are rectal bleeding, a change in bowel habits - usually looser stools, though it could also cause constipation or needing to go to the toilet more frequently - abdominal discomfort and anaemia.’

He says if any bleeding is accompanied by a change in bowel habits, or if any other signs persist for several months, then a ‘full clinical assessment’ should be carried out.

This includes a colonoscopy - where a tiny camera is inserted into the colon. It’s also important to establish if a patient has a family history of bowel cancer as this can increase the risk.  

'When you're in terrible pain, you make decisions.'

She told hosts Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden: 'I want my husband and children to see me off happy, contented.

'So I put the chemotherapy in a box.

'In this box, I could stop the chemotherapy after Christmas - I'm determined to hang on until Christmas.

'If my quality of life fades after that, I want to be able to open the box, make a choice and stop the chemotherapy.'

She said before this, she'd had no control over the decision - but had struggled with the idea of refusing treatment offered.

'I don't want to look ungrateful,' she explained. 

'The box [decision] is there to be used if I need it.

'If my quality of life remains as it is now [after Christmas], then why would I hasten my death? '

Yesterday, appearing on BBC Breakfast, she explained she had the option to resume treatment if her health improves. 'It's there on the table if I want it,' she said.

Lynda also admitted today there were times when she lay awake wondering about the future.

Speaking about her new book, There's Something I've Been Dying To Tell you, she said: 'The book is for everyone - every single day people are going through this.

'As my oncologist says, the smallest cancer cell can outwit the brightest oncologist.' 

In the piece she wrote for The Mail on Sunday last month, she described the devastating moment she was diagnosed.

'The pleasant gentleman in front of me visibly crumpled. He stared at his computer then seemed to pull himself up and looked me straight in the eye. 

‘"I am so terribly sorry, I thought you had already been informed of your position. You have cancer of the colon, and lesions on your lungs and your liver".'

'I felt nothing except disbelief.'

The actress said she had been ill the Christmas before and ended up in A&E. 'I had been having really bad indigestion and then diarrhoea quite badly, and I was short of breath. 

'We finally saw a doctor who said that it was probably nothing and to take Omeprazole for a couple of weeks. I did, and everything seemed to clear up.'

Months later, she was told there was a problem with a shadow on her liver - and see a colon specialist urgently. 

She wrote: 'The day finally came and those unforgettable words resounded round the surgeon’s office – "Now about your cancer Miss Bellingham", and, well, you know the rest by now.' 

The actress said recently: 'As my oncologist says, the smallest cancer cell can outwit the brightest oncologist'