English Opinion

I opened a newspaper this morning and read some incredibly sad news: Jade Goody is now undergoing treatment to prolong her life after chemotherapy for cervical cancer failed. Although I don’t usually comment on the world of entertainment, I felt I had to write about Jade and her incredibly brave battle today… if only to draw attention to the realities of living with cancer.

Jade Goody is 27 but was 21 when she first appeared on Big Brother in 2002. She shot to fame as a result of some of things she used to come out with but was a fighter beneath all the crazy comments. She has been her entire life as a result of her less than stable upbringing. However, now she has two boys and every ounce of the strength she has is being put to the test. Sons Bobby (5) and Freddie (4) have barely had time to get to know their mum and not it appears that she will tragically be torn away from them before they hit double figures.

Jade was disgnosed with cervical cancer in August 2008 and was subsequently given a 40% chance of survival given how the cancer had affected the cells. She gave numerous interviews about her situation in the hope that other women would take notice of just how much cervical cancer can affect their lives, stating how important it is to get checked for abnormal cells via a smear. She also made a record of the struggle as she went for TV to raise awareness and also let her boys know exactly how hard their mum had fought to stay with them. All the time she was strongly asserting that she would survive, that she would eventually get free of cancer and live out her days happy with her boys… unfortunately that doesn’t seem possible for her now because the likelihood is she won’t make it after the cancer spread into her liver, bowel and groin. She hasn’t even been given a percentage survival rate.

Jade Goody is a fighter so I am absolutely certain that she will cling on to life as long as possible. I hope that her struggle and fight for life will succeed but if it doesn’t then I really hope that her documentation of it all will help at least one other person by rasing awareness of the condition. We all need to know about cervical cancer, breast cancer, testicular cancer and other forms that are life threatening if only so we can recognise the signs and symptoms and implement checks. My mother had breast cancer twice and, as a result of her amazing fight and amazing teaching, I have been checking my breasts every month since I was 11. Too many women don’t though. Too many women do not turn up for scheduled smears because they feel violated, do’t like the idea of it or just can’t be bothered to go. When it comes to your health and detecting cancer early, a few seconds of feeling violated is well worth it.

I am Jade’s age. I am 27. I wouldn’t want to die yet so I can’t even begin to imagine how she is feeling staring death in the face on a daily basis. Brave, brave lady. Jade, I wish you luck and incredible strength in the coming months. I hope that you will be able to help others survive cancer and also hope that you can do so yourself. Good luck girl, keep fighting!

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