Widower of Gosport mum Jane Humber who died aged 51 of rare cancer vows to keep raising awareness in her name

Jane Humber, from Gosport, had previously vowed to do everything she could to raise awareness of the disease – sarcoma. Her husband, Nick, is now continuing this in her honour.

A devoted mother to Ed and step-mother to Reece and Evan, she was dedicated to raising awareness of this rare cancer with national charity Sarcoma UK, and was featured in their Sarcoma Awareness Month campaign in July.

Speaking to the charity for the awareness month, Jane said doctors had originally thought her sarcoma was a fibroid. ‘There wasn’t even a suggestion of anything else, because if there had been, I may have gone off myself and enquired or got a second opinion, or asked for another scan. All the way along they said it was not cancerous. There was no reason to ask for anything else.’

After a prolonged period of uncertainty and misdiagnosis, Jane would eventually receive a diagnosis of uterine sarcoma and died in October.

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Nick said: ‘Jane was a dedicated mother, sister, daughter, and wife. She was taken far too early. Jane was a fighter and fought so hard to the end. Her goal was to make it to her son’s 21st birthday, which she did. Once he had gone out for the evening following the family celebration, Jane deteriorated rapidly and was rushed into hospital that evening.

‘Jane was cared for at Queen Alexandra Hospital for a week with her family by her side, before being moved to The Rowans Hospice. Here, Jane passed away peacefully with her family by her side. Jane will always be missed and never forgotten. I do hope raising awareness of this disease will help others from having to going through this pain.’

Jane worked locally in Fareham at a window company for a couple of years and then after leaving there, worked briefly at a plastics company before being furloughed when the Covid pandemic hit.

She was also a keen volunteer in Gosport Borough FC’s Feed a Family scheme, helping deliver food to vulnerable people during lockdown.

Nick now urges everyone to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of sarcoma and to contact their GP if they have any of these:

:: A lump which is growing, changing, or bigger than a golf ball

:: Swelling, tenderness, or pain in or around the bone which may come and go and may be worse at night

:: Stomach pain, feeling sick, loss of appetite or feeling full after eating only a small amount of food

:: Blood in either poo or vomit

Megan Fletcher, early diagnosis officer at Sarcoma UK said: ‘Getting diagnosed as early as possible is key, so if you have any signs and symptoms, contact your GP. The greater awareness we have of sarcoma, and the importance of early diagnosis, the more chance we have of being able to help people like Jane when it will really make a difference.’

For more information go to sarcoma.org.uk.