A devastated mum with terminal breast cancer was wrongly diagnosed for two years and believed she had – TENNIS ELBOW.
Mother-of-five Jill Goodrum, 46, visited her GP in 2011 after she struggled to lift her arms above shoulder height.
But she says the doctor failed to spot the symptoms of cancer and told her she was suffering from tennis elbow.
Jill, of Plymouth, Devon, has now been told the cancer has since spread and she has been given just years to live.
Jill says had she been diagnosed properly or sent for more tests two years ago the cancer could have been caught in time.
Jill, who has four grandchildren and five children, said: “I want people to make sure they check themselves for any lumps and bumps.
“If I’d had more awareness of cancer two years ago when I was diagnosed with tennis elbow my outlook might be totally different.
“If I’d caught it earlier there may have been a cure. As it stands I just have to accept my lot.”
Jill visited her GP who diagnosed her pain as tennis elbow – a condition which causes part of the elbow to become sore and tender.
But six weeks ago Jill, who has five children aged between 29 and three, discovered a “bone-like” lump near one of her breasts and went for tests.
She was told she had aggressive and invasive breast cancer which had spread to her lymph nodes and her liver – and nothing could be done.
The best prognosis she was given was eight years – but that was before they found the cancer had spread to her liver.
Jill said: ”My cancer is incurable, so it’s all about maintaining my life now. I’ve had three bouts of chemotherapy already, one of which I proved to be allergic to.
“But chemotherapy is one of the hardest things I can imagine anyone going through. I won’t spend the rest of my life on chemotherapy,
“I don’t want to be sick for the time I have left. There will come a cut off point for me.
“When I found out it was terminal I sat in the car park at the hospital for about an hour unable to let go of the wall I was holding onto.
“It’s just horrific. I’m 46 and I’m never going to get old and the fact that I have two small children is very hard to deal with too. I’m never going to see them grow up.
“My children are going to lose their mummy. My older children are obviously traumatised by my diagnosis, but they are very supportive.
“Nothing is the same for me now. My world has completely changed – I’ve lost me, my identity, my life as I knew it.”
Jill, who has now set out to raise #10,000 for two local charities, Macmillan and Jeremiah’s Journey.
She has set up a Facebook page called ‘Jill’s Fundraising Journey’ which has already received over 300 likes.
She said: “My life is now about making the most of my family. Cancer does change your perspective on what’s important. I guess that’s a positive thing that’s come out of all this.”
For more information about Jill, search for Jill’s Fundraising Journey on Facebook. To make a donation search for Jill’s Fundraising Journey on virginmoneygiving.com
This is tragic in this day and age. It reminds us that self-examination of our breasts is important and free to each woman.
Somewhere along the line an annual mammogram was not done and the misdiagnosis leaves one wonder what medical practice did the patient turn to? A knowledgeable physician would have checked if a mammogram was in her charts.