Team Jenny

I am doing the Big Ride for Little Kids so more families like mine can have access to Camp Quality! 

I was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 29, breastfeeding my 18-month-old son Luka, and 5 months pregnant with my second baby, Matis. I had a mastectomy and 4 rounds of chemotherapy while pregnant, then after giving birth I had chemotherapy for a further 4 months and 5 weeks of radiation. When Matis was born I had lost all my hair, was missing a breast, and I had to leave him to go receive chemo treatment when he was 10 days old.  Luka doesn't remember a world before cancer - at 18 months, he saw me lose my hair, become so very sick because of chemo and spend endless evenings crying. It was a very traumatic time for our family. 

I don’t have the words to say how grateful we are to have had Camp Quality in our corner. Getting to meet people in similar circumstances has meant my husband and I can have deep conversations with others who understand without judgement or stereotypes and see we are not alone. 

Luka and Matis always have the best time with the Camp Quality volunteers and the chance to be around kids in similar situations and be looked after gives me and my husband Sam relief. We stay in touch with the families we met through Camp Quality, and I can’t say just how positive this is for us. 

I’m at year three out of a five-year window where my cancer could come back. All of my scans have been clear so far, so we are just waiting and starting to feel like we are getting a normal life back. 

For me, the Big Ride for Little Kids is the best motivation. Usually when I want to ride my bike, I have to fight to find motivation but with the Big Ride for Little Kids, when I have the Jersey that says ‘riding to help kids facing cancer’ and it makes me so proud. It makes me feel like a superhero!