A devoted wife, who has nursed her husband through cancer three times now has ‘chemo dates’ with him in hospital, after she also developed the disease.
In a cruel twist of fate, just as Jenny Thirlaway, 46, and her husband Scott, 43, were told he was in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma, she was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer.
The family have been through tough times together – as Scott’s illness developed as their premature twins fought for their lives in hospital.
The children pulled through but then Jenny’s ordeal began when she was admitted to hospital in February this year, with stomach pain and diarrhoea.
While Scott is now in remission, sadly Jenny – mother to Jack and Molly, now nine – has been told her disease is incurable.
However, she says the couple are remaining positive and making the most of their time together.
Jenny Thirlaway, 46, cared for husband Scott, 43, who had Hodgkin lymphoma – then she developed cancer
Trainee teaching assistant Jenny explains how there was a cross-over in their treatments.
She said: ‘Recently, we had a kind of date in Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, with him having an immune boosting treatment on the same day as I had chemotherapy. He sat in the chair beside me.
‘It wasn’t our normal date night, with drinks and dinner, but at least we could spend some time together. It was nothing crazy – we just sat together and chatted like we normally do, while we both had drugs fed into our veins.’
Husband’s cancer battle
Scott, who is now in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma – an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system – first experienced symptoms when Jenny was pregnant with their twins, Jack and Molly, now nine.
The couple, from Wallsend, Tyneside, assumed it was stress, especially when the twins were born at 34 weeks and Jack was initially taken to intensive care, struggling to breathe.
Their son quickly improved, going home two weeks later, only for Molly to be diagnosed with meningitis at four-days-old.
Jenny and Scott have twins, Molly and Jack who were fighting for their lives when Scott first became ill
The couple, from Wallsend, Tyneside, have ‘chemo dates’ together in hospital
Fortunately, after 10 weeks, Molly recovered and was allowed home, but Scott collapsed a fortnight later at Northumbria University, where he was studying for a masters in engineering.
Jenny, who left her twins with family, so she could take Scott to North Tyneside General Hospital in North Shields, said he was given an urgent x-ray and a barrage of tests.
She said: ‘They said that his heart was very enlarged and the sack around it was filled with lots of fluid.
‘We found out there was a mass in his chest. He had urgent heart surgery the day after that and they did a biopsy. About 10 days later, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.’
Two years of treatment for Scott
After intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, in October 2009, Scott went into remission, only for the cancer to return in April 2010.
With devastating timing, Molly simultaneously developed hydrocephalus – swelling on the brain – an after effect of meningitis, leading to her having a shunt inserted in her brain to drain the fluid.
Jenny said: ‘It was really difficult. Molly was in hospital and then Scott was told he needed a bone marrow transplant this time.
‘Luckily, his brother Kevin was a match, but he had to have intensive chemotherapy first.
Jenny’s ordeal began in February this year when she was admitted to hospital in February this year, with stomach pain and diarrhoea
Scott with his daughter Molly enjoying the festive season despite their family struggles
‘After the transplant, he was technically in remission, but he developed something called graft versus host disease – when the donated bone marrow views the recipient’s body as foreign and attacks it.’
Scott spent two years travelling back and forth the 130 miles between their home and the specialist Rotherham General Hospital for treatment, including photopheresis – a cell-based immunomodulatory therapy, where his blood was treated using ultraviolet light to help stop the graft versus host disease.
And during which time Molly had another shunt operation and was diagnosed with epilepsy and autism. She was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth.
Meanwhile, in 2015, Scott’s cancer returned again – leading to immunotherapy, chemotherapy and a ‘top up’ transplant from his brother, putting him back in remission in March 2016.
Jenny explained: ‘He’s continued to do really well since then. He’s back to work as an engineer and even goes to the gym.
‘Sadly, Molly still struggles. Diagnosed with epilepsy at three, she has seizures every day and, at one point, was having 150 a day.’
Jenny’s cancer battle started with a pain ‘worse than labour’
Still, Scott’s improving health enabled the family to form more of a routine, with Jenny training as a teaching assistant, until the start of 2017 when she started feeling ill.
She explained: ‘Just after Christmas, I noticed that after having drinks with friends, I would have a sore stomach and diarrhoea the next day.
‘Then, at the end of February, I had stomach pain. It was worse than being in labour. Still, I thought it was something like a burst cyst.’
Rushed by ambulance to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, she had an urgent CT scan.
Medics initially thought Jenny had Crohn’s disease and she was referred for a colostomy.
Jenny said: ‘The doctor came to see me. I could tell from the way he was chatting that something wasn’t right. I asked, “Are you going to tell me that it isn’t Crohn’s disease? I’ve got bowel cancer, haven’t I?” He said “yes”.’
Teaching assistant Jenny has been told by doctors that her bowel cancer is incurable
Jenny is told her tumour is aggressive
Six weeks later, Jenny had an operation to remove the tumour in her bowel, but, unfortunately, surgeons had to leave some behind, as it was growing too close to major blood vessels.
‘In May, we met with my consultant,’ Jenny said. ‘She explained that the tumour was really aggressive and, at this stage, it is incurable. We were so shocked. We just hadn’t expected that.’
Determined to stay positive, despite needing regular chemo to slow down the tumour’s growth, Jenny blogs about it on Facebook.
She said: ‘I have no intention of going anywhere soon. I had no symptoms and I am young in terms of the average age of getting bowel cancer.
The family are remaining positive and making the most of their time together
‘Anyone out there with symptoms like blood in the stools, abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating and going to the toilet more often, should go to the doctor. I really wanted to put my story out there and tell people just to get checked out.
‘Having cancer is horrible and when you are told, it is one of the worst things that can happen, but it doesn’t have to control your life.
‘Our family have had enough years of cancer with Scott. This is just an inconvenience and I have to have chemo, but I can still carry on having fun.’
Community support
Jenny has had huge support from her local community – with a helicopter pilot even flying her to the Isle of Seil in Scotland, where she grew up, to spend time with her family.
‘I just wanted to go home, as I was worried I wouldn’t be able to. It’s a very long journey, without a bathroom available for most of it and that’s just not something someone having treatment for bowel cancer can do,’ Jenny explained.
Now, eager to give something back, Jenny is helping to raise money towards a friend’s family’s £25,000 target, to fund physiotherapy in the USA for their son, Samuel Wright, who has cerebral palsy, to help him walk.
Already, Jenny and a group of her family and friends, including her son Jack, have shaved their heads – raising over £3,500 for Samuel.
She said: ‘We have had so much kindness that has allowed us to create memories with our children, so I decided it was time to pass it on and do something for someone else.’
You can sponsor Jenny here.