Jenny’s story

Jenny is featured in the advertisements currently airing on TV

“Don’t wait for a warning sign…you might not get one.”

Jenny, began smoking when she was 14 years old.

By the time she was 25 she had a young family and she decided to have a serious go at quitting. She succeeded in giving up smoking by the time she was 30.

She was a non-smoker for two years. Jenny then found herself with time on her hands and she was spending lots of time in the company of smokers.

Jenny has a very clear memory of the one cigarette that saw her slip easily and quickly into being a regular smoker again. She had that one cigarette because she was bored.

There was a point when Jenny shifted to mild cigarettes in the hope that it would be easier to quit and would be less risky.

It was another five years before Jenny managed to quit again at age 37.

In June 2002, Jenny went to her family GP complaining of a persistent shoulder pain. After tests and x-rays it was revealed that she had advanced lung cancer (adenocarcinoma).

The pain in her shoulder was caused by cancer, which had spread to her spine. She also had cancer in her liver.

As a mother of three boys, the youngest aged four, Jenny’s biggest regret is that she wasn’t able to quit sooner.

She says smoking has had a devastating impact on her life.

Her hope is that young women who hear her story will never start smoking.

Jenny’s message to smokers is to persevere with quitting because it is definitely worth it.