Corrie Karen's call to help save lives

ACTRESS BACKS DRIVE AFTER DAD'S DEATH AND HER OWN FIGHT WITH CANCER

- HELENA VESTY

 

CORONATION Street star Karen Henthorn was just 19 when her dad was found on the streets of Manchester by police, dying from cancer at just 44.

Decades on, in her late 40s, Karen's nightmares became real as she faced the same diagnosis as her father - being told by doctors that she had cancer.

Before she became a household name, Karen's life was turned upside down when in 1982 her dad, Peter Henthorn, tragically died. Following a period of poor health Peter was taken ill after suffering a stroke.

His health deteriorated and he sadly died a short time later in Oldham Hospital, where a post-mortem examination revealed that he had died from cancer, found in his liver and lungs. Karen, who has had a string of high-profile TV roles including in Eastenders, Doctors and Shameless, said: "I remember there was a knock at the door one day, and it was the police, they'd found my dad living on the streets of Manchester - I had no idea, I usually saw him every two weeks, since my parents separated.

"They'd brought him to our house because they thought he'd had a stroke. He'd lost his shortterm memory and could only recall the address of the old family home before my parents were divorced. So my mum put him up for the night and then she found him a care home to go in.