Back in the summer of 2011 I met Jenny Richards. She had volunteered to share her story with Vita magazine and be part of a photoshoot for some of our patient information booklets.

So that people using our information know we understand their situation it’s important to us that the images we use show real women affected by breast cancer. So we’re always grateful to the people who volunteer for our photoshoots.

When I met Jenny she was still having treatment for breast cancer. She had lost her hair because of chemotherapy and it was yet to grow back. While we waited for her photo to be taken she showed me some of her own pictures taken before treatment. These showed her waist-length hair. Jenny also showed me a photo of her daughter who had cut off her long hair in support of her mother and to raise charity funds.

Beautiful and striking

Jenny was happy to have her photo taken without a wig or hat or bandanna and one of the resulting pictures appeared on the cover of Issue 10 of Vita magazine. An enlarged copy of this beautiful and striking cover now hangs in the entrance of our London office.

Inside in an article headlined ‘The kids are alright’ Jenny described how she’d discussed her breast cancer with her children and how they’d reacted. It’s a very honest article that I’m sure has helped lots of women in a similar position.

3823

Jenny Richards during Chemotherapy and two years later

Moved on

Two years later Jenny volunteered for another of our photoshoots. She came along and talked about how she’d found the past two years. We took her photo with her hair regrown and down to her shoulder.

We asked Jenny to contribute to Vita again to reflect on the past couple of years and discuss how she’d moved on since treatment ended. She agreed and the resulting article is in the Summer issue of Vita.

Love and support

Jenny writes: ‘Two years on I have a lot to be grateful for. As I sit here this evening I am grateful for the love of my the love and support I had from my friends my GP my wonderful surgeon the oncology team the lovely nurses at the hospital and my wonderful family. And from Breast Cancer Care. Without it I wouldn’t have met the amazing group of women who have helped me through.’

You can read Jenny’s story in full in Vita our free quarterly magazine for anyone affected by breast cancer.

Read Jenny's story

You can also visit Vita online new to our website for July and beyond

  • We know that moving on from breast cancer isn’t always easy. That’s why we run free Moving Forward courses to help people cope with the long-term emotional and physical effects of a breast cancer diagnosis.