An Edinburgh mum living with terminal cancer has spoken out as she prepares to celebrate her 56th birthday.
Jen Hardy, founder of Cancer Card, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer after she went to the doctor with a sore throat and lost her voice back in October 2017.
She was so shocked at the news that she didn't think she would make it to 50. The life expectancy of secondary breast cancer after diagnosis is just three to five years.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said: "It was a huge shock, some people get a primary diagnosis but I didn't. I just had a sore throat and lost my voice. The GP thought it was just laryngitis but I went back five weeks later when nothing had changed. They said, 'I thought it was nothing but we'll refer you to the head, nose, and throat, specialist.
"I just felt tired but I just put it down to age or not being fit. But they found that I had a paralysed vocal chord and then I had a scan. It wasn't until I was on a work trip that they phoned me and told me I had cancer and it had already spread. It was incurable.
"I regularly check myself, and I just couldn't believe it. I didn't really know anything about advanced breast cancer. I thought, well two of my friends had gone through breast cancer and survived so I thought I'd be fine.
"But it wasn't until I was at the breast cancer clinic at the Western General that they told me there isn't any cure."
"I've got two daughters and they were more or less adults and I was doing well in my job. Me and my husband were looking forward to travelling and it was 'our time'. Then suddenly - bang!
"In October I had chemo until April and lost my hair, was on steroids. The following year in October I was getting radiotherapy."
There are treatments that can help prolong life and Jen underwent grueling sessions of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but the cancer still progressed.
Jen said: "For three years, I was living three months by three months. It was awful.
"The team at the Western General were amazing though, I can't speak highly enough of them. They were really supportive. About three years in one of my oncologists told me, 'I'd think you'll be around a bit longer than you think'.
"And I didn't think I'd see my 50th birthday, but I'm still here! And I'm celebrating my 56th on June 7."
"I thought I'd miss all the big milestones in my children's lives, but I went to my daughter's graduation and I've seen my second girl get engaged and I'm a grandmother to a one-year-old. I didn't think that would happen."
Jen decided she wanted to give something back and started Cancer Card in 2021, a charity to help support and inform people affected by cancer. To celebrate her birthday, she's raising money for her much-loved charity on Just Giving.
Jen explained: "When I got diagnosed, I knew there was support out there but it took ages to find. So I wanted to make it easier for people to find cancer support. It's a one-stop shop. It helps families too because they also need support.
"We are so lucky here in Edinburgh, we have the original Maggie's centre, MacMillans, and smaller charities and support groups too. I just want to shout about them and let people know. So that's what Cancer Card is all about."
Jen now says that she is doing well with regular trips to the Western General for treatment, and is continuing to work to raise awareness of where people can find support for cancer.
You can see more information about Cancer Card here and donate in honour of Jen's birthday on Just Giving.
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