‘We’re supporting the next fighters’
Jaki Jones (45), an art technician in Strangford Integrated College, has two sons Thomas (17) and Daniel (16). She found a lump in her breast while lying in bed on St Patrick’s Day weekend in 2012 and immediately went to get tested.
“They found three affected areas,” she says. “I was shocked to receive a breast cancer diagnosis as I was only 39 with no family history and had breastfed both sons. On April
29, 2012, I had a mastectomy and my lymph nodes removed. I went back to work three weeks after my surgery; it was a busy time in school and there was so much to do so I just powered on. My chemotherapy began in June which coincided nicely with the end of term.”
Now clear of cancer for five years, Jaki still takes Tamoxifen and has annual mammograms. She is taking part in The Bra Walk with 12 others from her school. She says: “We are calling ourselves ‘The
Strangford Tea Cups’. We have 700 pupils and there have been so many families affected by cancer. Just 12 months after my diagnosis, two other staff members unfortunately died following their own cancer diagnosis and we currently have had another two staff members undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
“Cancer makes no exceptions for age or lifestyle, which is clear from the staff who have been impacted by it at our school. Sometimes it feels like we have been disastrously targeted by it. Those of us still here are trying to raise funds to help the next fighters.
“The fantastic work Action Cancer does in supporting people with cancer and in detecting cancers early through it’s breast screening service is a cause worthy of our staff team dedicating fundraising support to.”