A woman suffering from lung cancer died after becoming disorientated and falling down the stairs, a coroner has ruled.

Katherine O’Byrne, 71, was found at the foot of the stairs by her husband Brian at their home in Christchurch on the morning of June 16.

An inquest into her death heard that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had received chemotheraphy, which made her dizzy.

She fell down the stairs and hit the back of her head, which coroner Grahame Short recorded as the cause of death.