Jenna's Story

In 2019 I found a lump in my breast and went to the GP who referred me to the breast clinic.
I was only 27 at the time, healthy, non smoker with no family history of cancer so didn’t for one minute think it would be cancer.

My daughter was only 1 and we had just got married 9 months prior to this.

I was sent for tests and initially told it was pre cancerous cells but would need removing incase they turned. Unfortunately after the operation to remove my breast we found out that it was cancer and I would need chemotherapy.

I went for my first round of chemo and sat in the chair but was then called around to meet the Oncologist for the first time. He sat me down to tell me after reviewing scans that it had spread to my bone and I was told that I was now classed as a secondary cancer patient and given the prognosis of 3-5 years.

I went through chemotherapy and radiotherapy and was told I would benefit from stereotactic therapy to my spine but then also told that I didn’t fit the eligibility criteria to have this on the nhs.
Fortunately we had some private medical insurance and I was able to receive the treatment in Madrid where we moved to for 6 weeks.

I currently receive targeted treatment every 3 weeks and will continue to have this whilst it works for me. At present my cancer is stable but I need regular scans to check and will remain on treatment for the rest of my life.

Treatment has left me unable to have any more children but we have been able to adopt our baby girl this year which has made Riley a big sister and completed our family.

I got in touch with the Ben Saunders foundation after reading what amazing things they do for families like ours and thought it would be the perfect place to make memories for us.