Hall Green cancer survivor and her 'miracle' daughter ready to get Birmingham Race For Life runners on their way - The Solihull Observer

Hall Green cancer survivor and her 'miracle' daughter ready to get Birmingham Race For Life runners on their way

Solihull Editorial 14th May, 2018   0

A HALL GREEN mum whose ‘miracle’ baby survived cancer treatment will be getting racers underway at the Birmingham Race For Life on Sunday (May 20).

Jennifer Davies was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma after spotting a lump in her neck when she was just eight weeks pregnant in December 2015.

Treatment was delayed for six weeks to reduce the chances of the baby being affected by the drugs and Jennifer gave birth to Sophia in July 2016 – just five weeks after her final chemotherapy treatment.

Jennifer, who works as an engineer at Rolls Royce, said: “It was terrifying – I was scared I was going to lose my baby and be left infertile by the treatment.




“Thankfully she was healthy and just perfect. She really is our miracle baby.”

Jennifer and Sophia will be guests of honour at Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham.


Jennifer will speak on stage and sound the starter horn for more than 1,700 women setting off on a 5k or 10k route.

The 32-year-old mum revealed she almost delayed seeing the doctor after dismissing initial symptoms.

“I spotted a lump just above my collar bone while out shopping but I thought it might be pregnancy hormones so I dismissed it completely,” recalled Jennifer.

“I went to work and mentioned it to a friend who said she would tell my mum if I didn’t visit the GP. I went and, to my surprise, I was referred to the QE hospital on the two-week fast track referral system.

“I went in for the results in the week before Christmas and I knew it was bad news as there were lots of people in the room.

“My consultant confirmed my diagnosis after further tests in January and explained that, if chemotherapy was delayed until I was in the second trimester of pregnancy, the baby would have its own blood supply and be less likely to be affected by the drugs. As there are so few cases of being diagnosed while pregnant, there are no definitive answers, so there was still a risk I could lose the baby.

“At 16 weeks, we were able to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and I burst into tears. They were looking after us very closely with scans every few weeks to check the baby was ok and my husband Scott was a complete rock.”

Five weeks after Sophia was born tests showed Jennifer was in remission which means she now just needs to be monitored every four months.

Jennifer added: “I’m incredibly grateful for the research which means I can spend precious moments with my daughter.

“That’s why I want to get behind Race for Life. It’s a great way for women to come together and help make a real difference.”

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with Tesco, is an inspiring women-only series of 5k, 10k and Pretty Muddy events which raise millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer sooner.

This year there will be 37 events taking place across 20 venues around the West Midlands region.

Paula Young, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for the West Midlands, said: “We’re delighted Jennifer will be joining us at Race for Life with Sophia who is just adorable.

“Money raised through Race for Life helps our scientists and doctors find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease, helping save more lives.”

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £8 million in Birmingham last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research – helping more men, women and children survive the disease.

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