- Jill Goodrum visited her GP in 2011 as she was struggling to lift her arms
- As this was her only symptom, she was diagnosed with tennis elbow
- She only returned to her GP two years later when she found a breast lump
- She was diagnosed with breast cancer and told it had spread to her liver
- Devastatingly, she also was told it was incurable as it was so advanced
- She died of septicaemia during chemotherapy treatment last month
- The mother-of-five documented her battle with the disease on her Facebook page Jill’s Fundraising Journey, to donate in her memory visit here
10:39 EST, 2 June 2014
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12:05 EST, 2 June 2014
A mother-of-five has died from breast cancer after doctors mistook the disease for tennis elbow for two years.
Jill Goodrum, 46, visited her GP in 2011 because she was struggling to lift her arms above shoulder height.
But her doctor misdiagnosed her symptoms, telling the grandmother she was simply suffering from tennis elbow.
As a result, her cancer went undiscovered until late 2013 when she discovered a ‘bone-like’ lump near one of her breasts.
Jill Goodrum, 46, (pictured with the youngest of her five children, Amy and Grace) died of breast cancer last month after being misdiagnosed with tennis elbow
The grandmother-of-four, from Plymouth, Devon, underwent tests and finally learned she had aggressive and invasive breast cancer.
Worse still, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and her liver and was incurable.
She died on May 21 this year of septicaemia (blood poisoning) during chemotherapy treatment.
She spent her final months documenting her battle on Facebook in a bid to raise £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support and Plymouth-based Jeremiah’s Journey.
She fell short of her goal, collecting £6,400 – but donations to her fundraising page have continued to flood in since her death.
Her eldest daughter, Lyndsey Todd said: ‘In the week since Mum died £1,500 has been raised from people all over the world.
‘She was posting the ugly truth about living with cancer and I have continued – it doesn’t end when the person has died.
‘I’m so proud of her for everything. Everybody who knew her loved her. She was always the go-to person.
Mrs Goodrum’s only symptom for two years was that she was struggling to lift her arms. It wasn’t until she found a lump in her breast that she returned to her doctor and the cancer was found
FIGHTING CANCER IN HER OWN WORDS – A MOTHER’S JOURNEY
Writing on her Facebook page, Jill’s Fundraising Journey, the 46-year-old raised awareness while documenting her fight with the disease.
Recalling the moment doctors uttered the devastating diagnosis, she wrote: ‘Being diagnosed with cancer was horrendous.
‘When
I found out it was terminal I sat in the car park at the hospital for
about an hour unable to let go of the wall I was holding onto.
‘It’s just horrific. I’m 46 and I’m never going to get old.
‘The
fact that I have two small children is very hard to deal with too. I’m
never going to see them grow up. My children are going to lose their
mummy.
‘My older children are obviously traumatised by my diagnosis, but they are very supportive.
‘Nothing is the same for me now. My world has completely changed – I’ve lost me, my identity, my life as I knew it.’
On October 30, last year, Jill shared her feelings about having a wig fitting, after bouts of chemotherapy.
She said: ‘My first step was chemo last Friday.
‘Now I have next chemo this Friday and wig fitting on Monday.
‘Those who know me are aware that my hair is down my back and I’ve had it very long most of my life. I thought having my head shaved was a grand idea.
‘And of course I will still go through with it.
‘However I now realise there are so many things to come to terms with when losing your hair.
‘The loss of feminine identity, the feeling of being a bit pretty, hair being a defining factor all my life, and ‘no hair’ is not pretty.
‘I don’t suit scarves and my complexion is shot with the chemo. So I am afraid. No hair = sickness. And that’s a fact, I have also seen how my lickle ones respond at the mention. It is a visual reminder mummy isn’t well. So much to try and understand and that’s just the loss of hair. Wig day has suddenly become very important x’
On November 9, 2013, the mother-of-five offered these words of wisdom to others, ‘don’t count the days, make the days count’.
A post on November 14, said: ‘Can it get worse I ask myself? Yes it really can… And I’m sure it will.
‘I was advised not to see this as a battle but I think I will disagree. Fighting this mind, body and should twister takes every ounce of my energy:
Will the chemo work?
If so, how much will it do?
How long have i got?
How awful on a scale of 10 today, oh another 9.
Will I be able to walk today?
Will I lose my hair today?
Will my support fall away?
Am I better off not existing at all?
It’s a veritable melting pot of teenage angst.
I wish I was a bigger person lol and able to be really grown up and level headed. I only needed another 20 years to reach that echelon.’
‘She supported me during the birth of my children and was my birthing partner for all three of my births and she was amazing.
‘Towards
the end we were able to repay some of that support and we sang songs to
her that she used to sing to us when we were young during her final
hour.
‘She just got on with things. Even when they stopped the medication she fought for another 24 hours.’
Her daughter Jemma Campbell, 20, added: ‘We were always a team and did everything together. It was me and her against the world.
‘Everybody
loved her. When I was at school all my friends would come over just to
see her. Whenever anyone had a problem they would turn to her.’
After she received the devastating
news that the cancer was terminal the family all spent Christmas Day
2013 on the beach – Mrs Goodrum’s favourite place.
Her
son, James Todd, said: ‘When I was a small kid in Plymouth – about five
or six years old – I remember my mum feeding us when she didn’t always
have food for herself.
‘Her mission was to better our situation and she did it.’
Speaking before she died, Mrs Goodrum said: ‘Being diagnosed with cancer was horrendous.
‘When
I found out it was terminal I sat in the car park at the hospital for
about an hour unable to let go of the wall I was holding onto.
‘It’s just horrific. I’m 46 and I’m never going to get old.
‘The
fact that I have two small children is very hard to deal with too.
‘I’m
never going to see them grow up. My children are going to lose their
mummy.
‘My older children are obviously traumatised by my diagnosis, but they are very supportive.
‘Nothing is the same for me now. My world has completely changed – I’ve lost me, my identity, my life as I knew it.’
Mrs Goodrum’s family say she never blamed doctors for missing her cancer because the symptoms were so hard to detect.
They say that when she visited her GP in 2011 all she was able to describe was having difficulty in raising her arms.
It was only two years later when she noticed a lump in her breast that she sought further help.
She learned then that she had been suffering from cancer for between three and four years with virtually no symptoms.
Ms Todd, 27, said: ‘The doctor said several years ago that she had tennis elbow.
‘She went to them with a complaint in her arm, but she felt absolutely fine in herself.
‘Mum never blamed them for not picking it up then as she only had one symptom – they weren’t to know at that time.
‘When she was diagnosed with cancer last year, doctors said they thought she had had it for three or four years.’
Tragically,
Mrs Goodrum was given some positive news at the beginning of 2014 after
scans showed no signs of cancer in her breast.
But after a holiday to Gran Canaria in April she became unwell again and scans revealed the disease had returned.
Mrs Goodrum (pictured with her daughters, Amy, eight, Grace, four, and Lyndsey, 27, and granddaughters Sofia, 10 months, and Ella, eight) already had advanced cancer by the time she was diagnosed
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER?
A lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast.
A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts.
Discharge from either nipple or a lump or swelling in either armpit.
Dimpling on the skin of the breasts or a rash on or around the nipple.
Pain in either breast.
Source: NHS Choices
Ms Todd said: ‘When she went for a scan earlier this year, doctors were gobsmacked.
‘The cancer seemed to have gone from her breasts and there was only one slightly enlarged lymph node.
‘They said that they had drugs that could control the liver – It was amazing news and we were all so hopeful.
‘They thought they had it under control and mum went on holiday in April.
‘While she was away she started to feel very unwell. On her return we found that the cancer had returned with a vengeance.
‘I’m so proud of everything she’s done – she was just an amazing mum and grandmother.’
Mrs Goodrum died of septicaemia during chemotherapy treatment last month
Mrs Goodrum leaves behind her husband Mark and five children James Todd, 29, Lyndsey Todd, 27, Jemma Campbell, 20, Amy Goodrum, eight and Grace Goodrum, four.
She also has four grandchildren – Ella, nine, Amelie, four, one-year-old Sofia and Elowen, also one.
Ms Goodrum’s friends, family and supporters have vowed to keep her fundraising and awareness efforts going with several planned events set to go ahead this summer.
More information can be found by going to Facebook and searching for Jill’s Fundraising Journey.
Donations can also be made by visiting her fundraising page.
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Comments (19)
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
MedusaC,
manchester, United Kingdom,
9 minutes ago
This article made me cry. It also made me kick myself up the backside. My cancer treatment ended 5 years ago, and since then I have been unable to eat; living on milkshake drinks, and suffer chronic lung problems. Sometimes I get really down, then I read something like this and am so grateful that I can watch my grandchildren grow. I hope the family keep this brave lady’s memory alive, so that she will still be with them in a way.
Barb. McLean,
Bobcaygeon, Canada,
10 minutes ago
Very sad for this family but curious why mammograms are not done on a yearly basis; they are here in Ontario. My early call with breast cancer was caught on a mammo. Had treatment, lumpectomy and am 5 yrs. clear but have to have the yearly mammo. Bobcaygeon girl
Tania,
Jerusalem,
10 minutes ago
My dear Aunt in east London had exactly the same symptoms but her GP sent her for a breast exam and it was cancer, she was treated but sadly it was too late and she died 2 years later. She had spent her whole working life nursing others.
Naomi,
Britain,
11 minutes ago
RIP Jill. What a terrible thing to have happened. This is what frightening on top of the fear that cancer produces. Sometimes people have it and don’t know for months/years and sadly sometimes it’s too late when it’s found. My thoughts are with her children and husband. She could have blamed the doctors but she didn’t. What a wonderful person she was xx.
Diana,
Tonbridge,
12 minutes ago
So very tragic!
Very upsetting how docs keep missing things, off soon to get some accupunture and chinese medicine, never had a bad experience always used people who are recommended, beats a lot of doctors and I get real results for my causes.
Deb,
London UK,
14 minutes ago
I went to the doctors last year with a rash on my breast and they advised eczema and to put cream on. I pushed and went back after a few months of putting cream and they sent me for biopsy. I have now had surgery after they found DCIS and I am now waiting a mastectomy. You know your body. Doctors can’t get everything right. Go back and push for further tests if you feel something’s not right…
Liam84,
London,
22 minutes ago
The family didn’t blame the GP but the Daily Mail do. I’m sorry, but if someone came to see me with elbow pain I wouldn’t be thinking of breast cancer being the cause of this.
Amberclan,
London, United Kingdom,
23 minutes ago
A friend of mine was also misdiagnosed and is now in the final stages of her breast cancer. She will leave behind two boys. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating and frightening. This happens too frequently and the NHS is to blame.
Miss Geek,
In my own wee world, United Kingdom,
29 minutes ago
RIP Jill.
Robert dale,
London, United Kingdom,
29 minutes ago
And yet we persist with the fantasy that the NHS is a ‘wonderful institution’. The NHS is not fit for purpose. From the elderly starved to death on wards, the contemptuous nature of some doctors, the filthiness of the wards, the poor cuisine, the indifference of MANY of the staff and the sheer terror of finding yourself in a position where you feel that something is wrong with you but you are dismissed as a kook. Time for the NHS to go.
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