Jade Jackson thought headaches were a normal part of growing up. But when the pain became so strong that it made her sick, she went to the doctor. She was told she only had 18 months to live. At that time, a 14-year-old girl was diagnosed with brain cancer, writes .
“Before my diagnosis, life was good. I was 14 when I had my first symptoms and we thought the headaches were hormonal. “I realized it was more serious when I came home from school one day and fell on the couch,” Jade said.I immediately felt an unbearable pain in my head and went to vomit. That’s when we knew something was up. From there we went straight to the MRI,” added.
Scans revealed he had cancer. “At first, I felt scared and worried, and the thoughts “why me?” kept running through my head. Jade said. “There was a real feeling of ‘oh my god, I have brain cancer’. Although I was scared and worried, I knew that God and my family would be with me every step of the way, which gave me peace,” she added.
Jade fought back and is one of the 47% of survivors who live more than 10 years after diagnosis. He is now 26 years old and she started a career as a teacher, but still faces significant health problems. It developed with her neuropathy – nerve damage that can cause chronic pain – and has problems with sleeping and walking. The pain also affected her work, as she soon found herself leading a sedentary lifestyle.
“Over the past 11 years, I have undergone many medical procedures,” Jade explains. “It started with radiation to the whole brain and spine for six weeks along with oral chemotherapy. After that, I was on several different chemotherapies along with a clinical trial. Now I have a lot of long term side effects and it really affects my life. Neuropathy is probably the biggest. However, they all limit me in doing everyday things. Some days, just a normal daily walk is difficult and very painful for me,” Jade said.
Now he uses an implantable device for the treatment of pain. Almost overnight, Jade’s pain decreased dramatically and she was able to sleep, spend time with her friends, and relax after being on her feet all day with her students. “I feel blessed to be able to live each day to the fullest,” she said. Jade wants to raise awareness that the side effects of cancer treatment can last a lifetime.
She says her faith helps her get through the tough times. “I wish more people knew that the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation last a lifetime,” she added. “The fact that the treatment is over does not mean that the journey is over. I have really good days and really bad days, but through it all, God is by my side and is my strength. I owe everything to him!” she said.
