Dawson, a Londoner, mistook the symptoms for perimenopause when in fact she had stage three bowel cancer.
It wasnโt until she experienced excruciating abdominal pain one night that she sought urgent medical help at the A&E.
Dawson had to undergo emergency surgery to remove an obstruction on her bowel. However, while the surgery was dubbed successful, further tests revealed she had cancer.
According to her husband Ben, Dawson underwent six months of chemotherapy, and the initial scans were promising.
โWe got one clear scan in August and it all seemed promising. But then in September we got the news that it was back and it had spread. That was absolutely gut-wrenching,โ Ben said.
After her cancer returned, Dawson tried other forms of chemo, but two months ago she decided to discontinue treatment as it made her feel more ill. Instead, she decided to spend her remaining time with her family and friends.
St Christopherโs Hospice in Sydenham, south-east London, supported Dawson, making it possible for her to spend more time at home in a โcomfortable and dignified way.โ
Dawson passed away at St Christopherโs Hospice on Sunday, June 29, with her husband by her side.
โThe care Laura received at home from the carers from St Christopherโs allowed her to have her final two weeks at home in a comfortable and dignified way. Then, during the nearly three weeks she stayed at the hospice, she was so well looked after โ and everyone there was so compassionate and so caring โ that it made Lauraโs last few days so good for her. Weโre eternally grateful that such a positive experience could come from such a negative situation.โ
Speaking of her condition, Dawson previously said, โSome of the happiest days of my life have been in the last few weeks. As a society, we shy away from the process of dying.
โBy doing that, we reinforce negative ideas around death. People think death is always going to be painful and traumatic, but it doesnโt have to be.
โDeep down we all know we are going to die. Cancer has forced me to acknowledge it. Since then Iโve lived more fully than Iโve ever done and that has been a gift.โ
She passed away knowing she was loved and cared for.
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