A much-loved beauty salon owner who bravely battled cancer with “dignity and grace” has died aged 33.
Emily Hubble, née Flood, from Deal, had vowed to stay upbeat for the sake of her four-year-old son Jack after receiving the devastating diagnosis.
She married her partner of 15 years, Luke, in a small ceremony – but died just two days later, leaving her friends and family heartbroken.
Emily was told she had ovarian cancer in May after previously having surgery to remove her womb, uterus, ovaries and appendix in a bid to get to the bottom of her health issues.
She was well-known in Deal and had run The Brow and Beauty Studio for the past two years.
A social media post from the Mill Hill business last Monday night said: “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we must inform you that our darling Emily, our wonderful Brow Queen, passed away peacefully today.
“There are no words to describe the void we feel with her gone. She fought every obstacle thrown at her with bravery, dignity and grace and we are going to miss her so so much. Rest in paradise, beautiful girl.”
Her best friend Kate Knight, who started a Gofundme page for Emily, wrote: “This news comes with a completely heavy and devastated heart, that Emily Rachael Hubble ‘Floody’, has incredibly sadly, but very peacefully passed away.”
She described Emily as the “ultimate girl’s girl, everyone’s bestie, an amazing wife and daughter”.
Emily first presented with symptoms in February, including bloating, pain in her abdomen and back, tiredness and loss of appetite before having surgery two months later.
And in a cruel twist of fate, the mum-of-one was diagnosed with stage 3B ovarian cancer – meaning the tumours had spread elsewhere in the body – on May 8, World Ovarian Cancer Day.
Despite the prognosis, which sees little more than 25% of women live longer than five years, the courageous mum stayed strong until the end.
She had even planned to race in the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April next year in a bid to raise money for Target Ovarian.
Speaking candidly to KentOnline in June, Emily said she wanted to use her experience as a force for good in a bid to get people talking about cancer.
“I’m very open about everything to do with my cancer because I think it’s such a taboo subject and people don’t like the word cancer,” she said.
“But I would rather be this way, and spread awareness.
“I don’t want people to pity me or give me sympathy. I’m still me. I still want to live my life.”
Originally set to have a gruelling five months of chemo, setbacks led to Emily admitting “the strength I had at the beginning is slowly fading away but I know I’ve got to do this”.
By mid-August, the symptoms of her treatment had become so bad that she was taken to A&E where she was then referred to the palliative team.
The Gofundme has more than 450 donations from well-wishers, raising more than £12,000.
Speaking about the support she received, Emily previously told KentOnline: “I want to thank every single person that has shown us as a family so much love and support since my diagnosis.
“I want to give a special thanks to my close family and friends who have been such a massive support to me and I feel so loved.
“The biggest thanks goes to my partner Luke, who has gone above and beyond every single day for me and Jack and after 15 years of being together I couldn’t be without him.”
