Mum urges women to check breasts after bad back diagnosed as terminal cancer

A mum has urged women to check their breasts after a bad back was eventually diagnosed as stage four breast cancer.

Jennifer McNeill, 34, from Gourock, Scotland, started experiencing a "stabbing pain" in her back in 2021 that would sometimes leave her struggling to walk. "The pain was so bad that it forced me to the ground and my partner had to lift me up because I could not stand up," she says.

The mum-of-two saw her GP, who recommended she do a three-week physiotherapy course. However, the pain worsened and muscular back pain, considered to be the result of repeatedly lifting her young children up, was diagnosed. "I was in complete agony for months and the pain got so severe that I could barely walk," Jennifer adds.

At the time, Jennifer's children, Aidan and Millie, were aged just one and two.

Jennifer paid for a private MRI scan of her lower back, which identified two fractures in her spine. But when the pain spread down her legs and she was unable to pass urine, she attended the A&E department at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in July 2021. There, doctors ordered a CT scan and discovered a cancerous tumour on her spine.

Jennifer was told she had stage four breast cancer, which had spread to her spine and was inoperable - and terminal.

In that moment, Jennifer said it was her children, now six and four, who she thought of. "I didn't know if I would see the next couple of weeks," she says. "I was scared, my children were babies at the time. We'd been making so many plans - family holidays and looking into schools - so I was devastated and in shock."

Jennifer had never had any issues with her breasts and hadn't noticed any of the 'normal' symptoms associated with breast cancer. She was offered several rounds of radiation, chemotherapy and has been taking the chemo drug Enhertu.

In 2021, after she contracted COVID-19 Jennifer was admitted to Ardgowan Hospice for one-to-one care. "When they told me I was going into a hospice I was nervous and scared because I thought a hospice was only for end of life and there was something they were not telling me," she explains. "When I went in I was in a wheelchair as I was unable to walk due to the pain and my mobility. But I was able to walk through the door when I left and that was due to the daily physiotherapy and support from the doctors and nurses."

Jennifer says the hospice has also helped support her husband and children during her cancer journey, particularly as her children don't yet know her diagnosis. "By telling them that I have a sore back they know that I won't be able to lift them and it is the truth because I am restricted to what I can do," she explains. "You don't want to tell them that you have cancer and that you have got a terminal illness and a timeline."

Since her diagnosis, Jennifer describes her life as being completely different. "It's been turned upside down," she explains. "All I can do is put on a brave face and pretend I'm okay for the sake of my children. I don't want to scare them, but the sad reality is this is how they know their mummy. They expect me to be in bed, to be in pain and to be unable to walk. This is our life now."

Check your breasts

To help mark Breast Cancer Awareness month, Jennifer is keen to stress how important it is to get checked regularly.

Over the last few years, Jennifer's husband of eight years, Kevin, and several of the family's friends have raised over £30,000 for the hospice she stayed in and are planning to put on more events and activities to collect more funds.

Speaking about the future Jennifer adds: "I want to live each day to the max for my children, but I can't due to pain and mobility, which kills me." Despite the struggles the family feel grateful for the support they have received. "I have so many wonderful people in my life who have supported me so much. Honestly if love could save me, I'd be cured already."

Additional reporting SWNS.

Read more about breast cancer:

Breast cancer: Signs, symptoms and how to check yourself at home (Evening Standard, 5-min read)

Six signs of breast cancer all need to know as Strictly Come Dancing star diagnosed (Gloucestershire Live, 5-min read)

How to check your breast for lumps (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)