A rock star’s wife who is battling breast cancer has bravely shown off the burns she suffered during radiotherapy, after admitting she is grateful for getting the disease.
Jules Peters, 50, from Dyserth, Denbighshire, who is married to Mike Peters, frontman of Welsh rockers The Alarm, had an operation on Monday [November 27] to make her breasts more symmetrical.
The mother-of-two said she was ‘glad’ she had the disease and now feels like a ‘phoenix rising from the ashes.’
Jules Peters, 50, who is married to Mike Peters, frontman of Welsh rockers The Alarm, shared a picture of her burnt breast after radiation
Speaking candidly from her home in north Wales, the 50-year-old revealed how her journey towards recovery is still ongoing.
While facing further operations, Jules has found time to support others and is on a mission to get more people talking about the physical and emotional effects of cancer.
Jules said: ‘Having cancer at 50 made me feel like I had to try even harder.
‘You’re at a tricky juncture anyway without having that thrown into the mix.
Jules (pictured during chemotherapy) said she feels like she has been ‘cleansed out’ after being diagnosed with breast cancer
Her husband Mike also continues to receive treatment for leukaemia
‘I spent a year with imbalanced breasts and it was horrible. Losing your hair is devastating too.
‘Everyone feels like they can’t talk about those changes, they feel like they’ve just got to be grateful for having the cancer removed, but the more I reach out to other women, they tell me they feel like can’t put their hands up and admit their struggling with the physical changes and how it affects them sexually.
‘They are left to just go back to a normal life of being feminine and it just doesn’t work like that when you and your body have been through so much.’
Jules has had half of a breast removed as well as a nipple and will have another operation in six months.
Jules says women feel pressure to go back to normal after being given the all clear
Jules said: ‘Chemotherapy and radiotherapy is just the beginning of the journey I’d say.
‘The way I deal with it is I embrace it, compete with it and try even harder.
‘After my last surgery on Monday [November 27], I sobbed my heart out after having such compassionate, incredible care.
She has shared pictures of the results of her surgeries and treatments
‘I do have my meltdowns but I’ve always tried to keep them under control, but this time, I felt like I was sobbing away the last 14 months and it was actually quite liberating.’
Jules was diagnosed with breast cancer on July 4 last year after finding a lump.
Her husband Mike, who has fronted new wave band The Alarm since 1981, also continues to receive treatment for leukaemia.
Mike was first diagnosed with cancer in 1995 and has fought the disease three times and has been of a great support to his wife throughout her treatment.
In October, Jules praised consultant breast surgeon, Ilyas Khattak who she believes ‘saved her life’.
She bravely revealed the extent of the surgery she had undergone to encourage other women to check their breasts and said she had a great response to the images.
Jules said: ‘I’m used to being honest with my feelings about things so giving an honest account of cancer was no big deal to me.
‘I’ve been overwhelmed and surprised at the response from people saying how much it’s helped them.
‘I want to continue to help and support people who are at the beginning of their own journeys.
‘I do feel very much like I’m being reborn, it’s a bit like the phoenix coming out of the ashes and it’s really celebratory.
‘You feel more exquisitely alive than you’ve ever done, it sounds dramatic but it’s the only way I can describe it.
‘We all have moments when we get irritated by things, but I really don’t anymore and that’s a lovely feeling, it crystallises everything.
‘I was really appreciative before, going through it with Mike, but because this has happened to me, I wake up in the morning, I’m like a little excited child because everything’s great, not having treatment, my hair’s growing back, I feel more like me, it’s beautiful.
‘In that way, I feel pretty blessed by the whole cancer experience, I’m glad to have had it.
‘It clarifies everything and you have a good cleanse out, everything’s very, very positive.’