Leigh landlady Kim loses cancer battle at 44 (From Southend Standard)

Landlady Kim loses cancer battle at 44

10:30am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in Southend By Ryan McCarthy

Kim and Kevin, far right

A POPULAR landlady who endured two mastectomies has died, aged 44.

Kim Roberts, who battled cancer since 2008, was diagnosed after finding a small lump in her breast, yet still helped raise more than £10,000 for cancer research.

The mum-of-one and landlady at the Crooked Billet, Old Leigh, featured in the Echo in September to raise awareness of her condition.

She passed away on Valentine’s Day.

Heartbroken husband Kevin, 45, said: “I’m in practical mode at the moment and just trying to get on with things, but the regulars at the pub have been brilliant.

“I have stacks of sympathy cards and flowers everywhere. Kim touched a lot of people’s lives.

”My first partner died of brain cancer in 2000, and initially Kim tried to keep things from me, but that was the sort of person she was.”

Mrs Roberts suffered with inflammatory breast cancer, a rare form of cancer which blocks the lymph vessels in the breast’s skin.

She endured chemotherapy and radiotherapy and a number of operations to remove tumours, but cancer returned three times.

Last October, Mrs Roberts, Kevin and their daughter Amber, seven, enjoyed a three-week trip to Florida.

When they returned, Mrs Roberts started a treatment of trial drugs at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.

Mr Roberts said: “It was like a change of gene therapy.

“She had a tumour in each side of her neck which did seem to disappear.

“But the cancer had spread across her chest.”

Mrs Roberts returned home at the end of January for end-of-life care and Mr Roberts, who married Kim in 2003, said he could not thank Marie Curie nurses enough for their support.

He said: “They were unbelievable. Kim was in quite a bit of pain at the end and they were so great. I would have been a bit of a mess, but having them on hand was so reassuring.” Mrs Roberts helped raise more than £10,000 for the Breast Cancer Campaign just months before she died.

She organised a static bike ride at her pub in October, with regular drinkers forming two teams and racing to cycle the 50-mile distance from Southend to Mersea Island.

Mrs Roberts worked on cruise ships as a beauty salon manager, between 1992 and 1997, and ran pubs in the City before moving to Leigh.

A funeral service will be held tomorrow at Southend Crematorium, West Chapel, in Sutton Road, from 1.20pm.

All are welcome and donations can be made to Marie Curie on the day.