Young mum given six months to live wants to ‘defy the odds’

A young mum of three has pledged never to give up after doctors said her deadly cancer means she will only live for six months. Jenna Wareing, 33, found a lump in September last year, and after being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer has been undergoing treatment including chemotherapy and radiotherapy since.

However the Echo reports[1] she has now been given news that it has spread to her liver - potentially meaning she only has months left to live unless there is a breakthrough with treatment. She has vowed to fight on and said: “I want to defy the odds and I will, and I believe that. I will be in control of my living and how I live. I’m not going to let cancer control how I live my life. I don’t want to be at home in bed, unable to do things. I want to do everything I possibly can to see my kids grow up.”

Jenna is having hormone therapy injections which could slow down the cancer but has also suffered side effects from them. She explained: “I had an inflamed liver, diaphragm and stomach. I’d lost nearly a stone in three weeks. Basically, the treatment is not working. I found out only last week. They offered me more chemotherapy - but if I didn’t take any treatment, the prognosis would have been four to six months.”

Because of the impact its had on her she has paused treatment. She said: “I feel so weak. With all the treatment I’ve had, I wanted to take some time out with my family to decide what’s right for us and for me. I’ve been looking into alternative ways that I can support my body while fighting.

“I will be proactive in my fight, but I haven’t made a decision about what that looks like yet.”She said: “I’m so lucky because I have so much support and all my family and friends are around me. I know that whatever decision I make, things will be fine. I’ve got no worries about what will happen to my children. I know they will always be taken care of.”

She thanked Liverpool-based charity LARKS, the Marina Dalglish Appeal, which supports women living with breast cancer. She said: “You’re around people who are in the same mental and emotional state as yourself. No matter what group you’re in, there’s that support there. They understand the effects of what treatment can do; they have that experience of how they feel, how they look.

“It’s hard for women who struggle with body image, losing your hair. Your features change so much during a cancer battle and that’s hard on a woman. Going to the support group at LARKS I met two of my closest friends who are like family. It’s somewhere that every woman who faces breast cancer should go to, because it’s so positive. All we do is laugh. It’s not a group where you go and it’s doom and gloom. It’s wild and carefree and it shows you what true living is.”

Jenna organised a charity night at Aintree Racecourse this month. The money will go towards funding private care at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, with anything left over being placed in a trust fund for her three children.

On November 12, 50 of Jenna’s friends and former fellow students from the Class of 2006 at Notre Dame Catholic College, in Everton, will be walking 19 miles to Southport to raise money for her appeal. To find out more about the walk, or to make a donation click here.[2]

References

  1. ^ the Echo reports (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
  2. ^ To find out more about the walk, or to make a donation click here. (www.gofundme.com)

Tags: