Friday, October 3, 2008

Mother Courage


An inspiring story in Eastern Daily Press about a mother who stopped her cancer treatment to protect her unborn child. Janine Long, an ex-model, has battled three different forms of cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy for cervical cancer when she discovered she was pregnant. She said:
“The doctors basically said that it was 'your baby lives but you might die, or your baby dies but you might live, or in a worst-case scenario you both die'. I was already a mum and when you are given a choice of your child's life or your own life, your child comes first. Motherly instincts are the most powerful thing in the whole world. I couldn't have given his life up for no reason.”


Mother and baby survived, and Janine has now finished her chemotherapy. For a person who has suffered so much and risked so much, she comes across as remarkably down-to-earth. "I want to inspire people," she said. "If I can do it, anyone can do it... If you have got someone in your life, like children or family, they need you, and that is the most important thing. I want people to know they are not alone."