Worthing mum battling cancer for the third time raises more than £1,800 for Breast Cancer Now

Jackie Palmer gathered family and friends for a fundraising Pink Fizz Afternoon Tea on Saturday, supporting Breast Cancer Now, and talked openly about her cancer to help raise awareness during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

She wanted to thank those who rallied around in her times of need over the past 18 months and ask for continued, long-term support as she again starts chemotherapy – this time indefinitely.

Jackie said: "I accept that it will never go away but that I have to give it a go to try to prolong my life so the boys have their mum as long as possible, and I can live my life to the full.

"It’s been incredibly tough but my sons have given me the strength to carry on. I cannot thank my family and friends enough for their love and loyalty during these incredibly dark and difficult times."

Jackie was 46 when she was first diagnosed with primary breast cancer and secondary bone cancer in 2012. She feared she would not see her sons grow up.

She underwent a double mastectomy when her youngest son, Harrison, was nine and despite successive treatments, the cancer has returned again.

Harrison, now 19, has just started a masters' degree in aeronautical and aerodynamic engineering at the University of Leeds, after taking a gap year to help care for his mum.

His older brother Lewis, 23, has meanwhile successfully completed a first-class masters' degree in civil engineering at the University of Birmingham.

Jackie said: “People can and do live with cancer. I had six cycles of chemotherapy at the Montefiore Hospital in Hove last winter and I was looked after by Harrison and friends at home. I was really poorly after each session of chemotherapy."

When the cancer was first detected ten years ago, Jackie was juggling her busy life as a single mother and her successful career with EDF’s nuclear development team in London.