Catherine Wines is energetic, almost bouncy. She rather likes her new “Annie Lennox-look” hairstyle — white-grey and short-cropped.
The hair is not solely a matter of aesthetics. Rather, it is a reprieve from the “constant reminder” of pancreatic cancer. A few months ago she was bald, a side-effect of the chemotherapy treatment. She would get out of bed every morning, see her reflection and think, “Oh yes, I have got cancer.” To cheer herself up — and keep her head warm — she wore a range of fancy hats.
The 62-year-old, who looks the picture of health and is sporting sparkly trainers, was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer in late 2018. One in four people with pancreatic cancer die within a month of diagnosis, three in four within a year. “I’ve already lived 12 months, so I’ve already beaten the odds,” she says.