| About Me |
| My story My name is Jenny and this is my story... Having already survived Vulva Cancer... My life was forever changed again on the fateful day of 31st March 2004. This also happened to be my 60th birthday. What happened after that happened so fast I was hardly able to process it. Two weeks later... I had a mastectomy to remove my right breast. I have to say I was not sad to lose my breast just happy that losing it would save my life. The confusion and shock drove me to beg to have the left breast removed. But the surgeon would not remove viable flesh... I was so frightened that it would spread! But luckily I never gave up hope and am living my life to the full, thanks to the surgery and my wonderful supportive family. As well as having the mastectomy I also had to have course of chemo, the worst part of that was when all my hair fell out. I had always cherished my hair and when it started to fall out I was bit sad. My eldest son being the strong manly type who could not cope with all this emotion came over one day and announced he would shave my head... Which I let him do; it was most cathartic. Loosing my hair The great thing about the chemo was that I did not have a hair on my body... So no nasty underarm shaving or waxing of the old lady moustache... yay... I also had to have a course of radium, which wasn’t too bad. I used to get a lot of weird looks from people, after my hair fell out if I did not have my bandanna on. This used to really bother me but I knew what I had been through so I tried to not let it bother me. Support I needed I got a lot of support from my wonderful children, Greg, Debbie and Donovan. Without their love and support I would have probably given up the will to live. My other family and friends and my church were great throughout the ordeal. It does amaze me how people seem to come to you in your hour of need. I was so blessed, I know not everyone has the help and support that I did and I praise the Lord that He was there for me when I needed Him. One more year till... I have one more year to go to get the all clear... yay Because of the way my life was affected and all the help I got I would like to give something back. So I’m not sitting idle, I’m busy knitting (or trying to...) the longest pink scarf in the world. My thoughts on 'Race for Life' UK: Having run the ‘Race for Life’ I have only one regret and that is that my son could not do it with me as they do in other countries. I know it is all about women getting together and raising funds, but it should be about men and women pulling together to make a difference... I thought It was plain sailing! I started the Jenny Chant Appeal to help with education and support for sufferers and their families. Since the inception so many things have happened. One thing that I was not prepared for was being diagnosed with cancer for the 3rd time... No more hiding! In August 2008 I was told that I had lip cancer and that they needed to have life saving surgery in case it spread to the lymph nodes in my neck. I am not a vain person but when I saw the scar it made me weep... I now could not hide from my brushes with death... It almost broke my spirit... The lovely emails that I receive on a daily basis and the wonderful people involved with the appeal gave me the strength to push through. I thank everyone for your caring and loving thoughts. Moving forward: The appeal is getting more and more popular and I know that together we can make a difference. I still need as much help as possible to get this task achieved, so please spread the word. Final words... On to my final words of wisdom: my only advice to men and women is always go for check-ups regularly (and inspect yourself), never lose faith and always try to be positive. Don't be Negative, Just be Positive. Love and light Jenny Chant xxx |
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