‘If I can lose my leg and still be here I am happy with that’
INSPIRATIONAL MUM FIGHTING RARE CANCER STILL POSITIVE
AN inspirational mum who feared she was about to spend her last Christmas with her children is battling a rare cancer and has undergone life-changing surgery.
It was just days before Christmas last year that Joy Cole and her loved ones received the devastating blow. An MRI scan showed a large sarcoma in her left thigh and the 38-year-old, who works as a radiotherapist at James Cook University Hospital, says she feared she wouldn’t see next Christmas.
But within days, specialists told her they aimed to cure the cancer and Joy has undergone gruelling chemotherapy treatment and a life-changing surgery to remove the tumour, and her left leg. Now, the mum-of-four faces another five months of chemotherapy but remains inspirationally positive.
It comes as fellow school mums have banded together to help raise funds to support Joy, her husband Andrew and their four children – nine-yearold Emily, twins Alfie and Daniel, seven, and nine-month-old Alice.
Joy was on maternity leave in October last year when she noticed that the tissue in her thigh “seemed different”. She spoke with her GP and within a month the lump had grown significantly.
She was referred for MRI scans which confirmed the tumour just four days before Christmas. Joy, whose degree was specialised in oncology, said: “When it’s something you’re used to dealing with a lot you can almost become a little bit disengaged with it. I realised I had symptoms of a sarcoma so spoke to my GP about it.
“I wasn’t overly surprised that was the diagnosis they came back with. The GP did show us the MRI images in the consultation and looking at it, the tumour was huge and looked like it had taken up the whole of my thigh.
“From looking at that image we thought the outcome was going to be really bleak - that this would be my last Christmas and thinking how we deal with things from there.
“When we saw the specialist at the Freeman on the Friday he said they were aiming to cure it. He said he thought it was a standard osteosarcoma - he was quite quick to say the aim would be to cure it.
“It made everything seem a lot brighter for us and more hopeful. It will be difficult to get your head around but knowing the specialists are aiming to cure it did make a massive difference.”
Medics found that the tumour which was already a rare osteosarcoma - was a more uncommon subtype and among the 10% which are a higher grade. The devoted mum began chemotherapy within weeks and, although it had always been a possibility, was told a fortnight before the life-changing surgery that she would lose her leg from the hip.
After the surgery, Joy returned home and was starting to adapt to the changes and challenges of losing a leg. But she expects to be knocked back as she begins five months of exhausting chemotherapy treatment.
“It was such a shock initially when we saw the scan and thought things were really bad. Being told there was actually something they could do, that there’s no evidence of anything else in the body, all those things allowed us to be a bit more positive.
“My husband and I have tried to be positive about all of it. Our thinking when I was told I’d likely lose my leg was yes it’s less than ideal but in the grand scheme of things if I can lose my leg and still be here we’re happy with that - as happy as I can be. I can still be here to see the children grow up. If it’s a decision between having two legs and only surviving for X amount of time or losing a leg and having the chance to be here for a lot longer, it’s worth the chances that comes with that.”
So far more than £8,000 has been raised to support the Norton family. The Go Fund Me page, set up by friends fellow school mums, says: “Joy has made friends wherever she goes all her life. Her kindness, warmth and wit shine through.
“We know times are hard and money is tight for a lot of people. We also know so many people want to help and even just a small amount will help make a huge difference. Please give if you’re able to, we would appreciate all help, no matter how small.”
Joy admits the fundraiser has been “overwhelming” at first and were reluctant to agree at first given the hard times many families are facing. But so many people had reached out, and Joy and Andrew know they’d want to support others in their position.
To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/joycole