Jenelle Juric
GEELONG’S JENELLE JURIC HAS BEEN VOLUNTEERING FOR THE BARWON HEALTH FOUNDATION FOR MORE THAN FOUR YEARS. THE 56-YEAR-OLD “WONDER WOMAN” WAS EAGER TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT HELPED HER THROUGH HER CANCER DIAGNOSIS YEARS EARLIER.
IT was the year 2000, I was 39, had two teenage daughters and was opening up a cafe when I noticed that something wasn’t quite right with my body. I’d subconsciously known for months that something was wrong, but brushed it off.
Breast cancer hadn’t even crossed my mind because back in those days it was seen as an old woman disease, and I wasn’t an old woman. I just thought we have our own little quirks and deformities and that was what I’d put it down to.
It wasn’t until I was talking to my friend, a nurse, about the annoyance of my inverted nipple that she said it is actually not a good thing and I should probably get it checked out. The way she put it was amazing, she never mentioned the word cancer so as not to scare me, but just told me it wasn’t normal and it needed looking at. Ultimately, she saved my life.
I had my tests and my first diagnosis in February of 2000, a mastectomy in March and started six months of chemo in April. I also had five weeks of radiation. It was about a full year of total treatment.
Chemo really knocks you around. I was very tired, but I had a cafe to run and a family to look after. It’s amazing how people can really get behind you in a time of need. My kids really stood up and my parents who were travelling at the time came back to help with the cafe.
I was then diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2011 for which there is no cure and I was in the process of opening a second cafe, but we just thought no, it’s now time to retire.
I went six weeks without seeing anyone, talking to anyone or really getting out of the house, which isn’t me. I went to a friend who worked at Barwon Health to see if there were any job opportunities and she told me about the volunteer committee, which I didn’t know existed and I didn’t realise that Andrew Love Cancer Centre relied on fundraising donations.
Then I thought, ‘ well they do and have done so much for me and my family in the past, I would love to stay connected and give back to this community,’ as I was living quite well with my second diagnosis at this stage in 2012.
So now I do whatever they need me to do and I love it. I really enjoy knowing that what I do helps connect people to the services that we’re raising money for.
I like to think of myself as a grumpy b---who just really loves giving back, loves people and loves getting as involved with the community and fundraising as I can.
I’ll be out and about for today’s Project Love’s Giving Weekend, whether it’s at the merchandise store or out at the intersections collecting donations. I love having a chat to people in their cars and collecting some money for a good cause.