A 53-YEAR-OLD mother of three collapsed suddenly and died from a rare toxic side effect of the chemotherapy she had started a day earlier, an inquest heard yesterday.
Barbara Rafter (53), The Grove, Celbridge, Co Kildare, was rushed to hospital after she collapsed at home on the night of December 12th, 2006, Dublin County Coroner’s Court heard.
Ms Rafter was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2006. She underwent successful surgery to remove the tumour at Tallaght Hospital that month and began a six-month course of chemotherapy there on December 11th.
Her husband, Frank Ryan, said that at 8.30pm Ms Rafter complained of feeling cold.
She collapsed and was rushed to Blanchardstown hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
A postmortem found she died due to a rare side effect of a drug used in her chemotherapy. She also had coronary artery disease, which was an underlying factor.