Mum issues warning to check children for hidden lumps after baby is diagnosed with rare cancer
After her newborn baby was diagnosed with rare cancer, one mum is urging parents to check their tots.
What should've been one of the happiest days of Billie-Jo Jobling's life soon became a nightmare.
On 13 October 2021, not even 24 hours after her little boy Isaac was born, nurses found a lump.
Advert
Initially, doctors suspected that Isaac had a twisted testicle, but upon further examination at Bristol's Children's Hospital, Billie-Jo's worst fear was realised.
She was told that her son had a juvenile granulose germ cell tumour on his testes.
"My heart broke, I thought I was going to lose my precious newborn baby," the mum said.
At just seven days old, her little one had to have the lump and testicle removed, with a biopsy to be performed shortly after.
The biopsy confirmed that Isaac had cancer and Billie-Jo was terrified at what that might mean for her family.
She said: "Your world just comes crashing down and life will never be the same again.
"You hear about children having cancer but you never think it's ever going to happen to your child, especially a newborn baby.
"The weeks that followed it was all a blur. I wasn’t living I was surviving day by day."
Billie-Jo said that she 'cried almost every day' and that her son's diagnosis and treatment was the 'hardest thing' she's even had to go through.
Thankfully, her other kids were able to help. "Our other children Esmee, seven, and Reuben, five, helped us." she said. "We didn’t want to let them know in the early stages so they were a big distraction, I had to keep going for them."
Isaac is now 'thriving', with Billie-Jo saying: "He is so happy and strong and takes everything in his stride. He loves dancing and is always laughing and smiling."
Still, she worries about his health and urges other parents to check their children: "I want to share Isaac’s story because cancer doesn’t discriminate – it can happen to anyone. "Before having Isaac, I never spoke to my children about feeling for lumps in our body because cancer never entered my head. "My children regularly check themselves now and know the importance of why we need to check for lumps."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week
Shola Lee