Mum with stomach and back pain dies just one week after diagnosis

Maria Mason had put it down to arthritis08:26, 31 Jul 2026A family have been left devastated after a “courageous and beautiful” mum died just one week after being diagnosed.‌Maria Mason, from Ramsgate, Kent, had been suffering with stomach pains and back discomfort, which she put down to arthritis. But doctors at the QEQM Hospital in Margate delivered the shocking news that the 57-year-old grandmother had pancreatic cancer. Further tests revealed the disease had already spread to her lungs, stomach and lymph nodes.‌Tragically, she died at the Pilgrims Hospice one week later on July 23. Maria’s only child, Kay Mason-Johnson, told KentOnline her mum “fought bravely and deserved so much more time”.‌Her death came as a huge shock to the family. “We've still not really got our heads around it f