My Body, The Warrior

We sometimes forget how strong we are, especially when we face challenges like illness or disability. These three women share the battles their bodies fought… and won.

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My incredible body beat cancer and grew two babies at the same time’

Jade Wyngaardt, 29, is a business owner and lives in Woodstock with her husband George, 34, sons Kairo, four, Israel, three, and twins Kenya and Judah, 18 months. I found a pea-sized lump in my breast during a self-exam in 2016 but I didn’t think much of it – I had my hands full starting my agency, Click Africa digital, and running around after two toddlers. But when I mentioned it to George he insisted I see a doctor. A trip to my GP put my mind at ease because she didn’t think it was something to worry about because of my age and the size of the lump, but she sent me to a breast clinic for a biopsy as a precaution.

But my biopsy results confirmed that I had stage 1 breast cancer. Hearing the news was devastating: all I could think about was George and our sons – how would they cope without me? But I was lucky; the cancer was discovered early and I had options available: a double mastectomy was scheduled and I was started on treatment straight away.

MY BODY

A few days before my mastectomy I woke up not feeling quite like myself – I’d been pregnant twice before and had a nagging feeling that I might be again. A pregnancy test revealed that I was right; the timing couldn’t have been worse. But when I told George, he was over the moon, while I simply dissolved into tears. He said the pregnancy was a blessing and comforted me by saying that we’d get through this together.