Washington mum, 39, fighting cancer for second time raises thousands for charity as husband is in intensive care

Mum Jenna Edwards, 39, is fighting cancer for the second time and receiving bone cancer treatment while her husband, Colin, is critically ill in hospital.

Colin underwent open-heart surgery at the start of the month and is currently in intensive care after he suffered a stroke and multiple organ failure following the operation.

Jenna said she has managed to keep her positive attitude by walking 10,000 steps every day throughout March as a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK

Jenna said: “If it wasn’t for doing this fundraising, I would have been a complete wreck. It has given me something to focus on and kept me busy.

"Colin is always in the back of my head every minute of every day and I’m keeping up with his progress via numerous phone calls every day.

"It’s hard not being able to see him and hold his hand, but the fundraising has been a massive help.”

During their 15 years together, the couple have had to face cancer three times. Jenna’s first battle with the disease was in 2011, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer aged just 29. She had a mastectomy and after successful treatment got the all clear, but just six years later the family had to fight cancer again, as Jenna’s husband was diagnosed with lymphoma.

He was given a survival rate of three to seven months, but reacted well to the chemotherapy and received a stem cell transplant last year.

Jenna has said that because of everything they had already been through, she wasn’t phased when doctors told her last year that her cancer had returned in her spine and hips.

"There is no point in sitting around moaning and dwelling on it. Positive thinking does go a long way as well in times like this,” she said.

"It is a bit hard when you just can’t get a hug off someone or no one can come to hospital appointments with you.

"I was on my own when I find out and I think it’s just a shame people going through this can’t have somebody sat beside them.

"Luckily, I’m strong, but there’s other people that might have been brokenhearted,” added Jenna.

This time around, Jenna has said her cancer is incurable, but she is receiving treatment to prevent it from spreading further.

In the early days of the pandemic, there were reports of cancer patients skipping appointments over coronavirus fears.

According to Cancer Research UK, 350,000 fewer people were referred with suspected cancer symptoms in the UK between April and August.

Jenna has urged people not to delay contacting their GP:

"If you find anything and you don’t think it’s right, go to the GP straight away. We did think it was a just a standard bad back of lifting my daughter all the time. If I had let it go, it could have been a lot worse.”

Jenna set up her fundraiser with the modest goal of £200 and has already managed over £3,100 donated.

She said: “The support has been absolutely amazing. I am grateful to everyone that has donated and sent messages of encouragement.”

You can donate to Jenna’s fundraiser here.

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