Mum made to feel like timewaster over niggling symptom before terminal diagnosis
"I miss my husband already, and it hurts my heart to think about how he'll get along without me."
A mother of two has talked about how she was given a devastating diagnosis. It turned out that her "spurts" of headaches were actually a sign that she had cancer that would kill her.
Jennifer Roscoe, a 38-year-old pharmacy technician, started getting headaches, throwing up, and having trouble seeing in May 2019.
She says that at first, the doctors told her she had a sinus infection.
But the next month, her health quickly got worse, and she was taken to the hospital, where doctors found a huge tumor on her brain.
The next day, after getting an MRI, Jennifer got the worst possible news.
She had stage four glioblastoma, a cancer that spreads quickly and makes people die within 16 months.
Jennifer doesn't know how long she has left with her husband Dave, 43, and their two daughters, Emmy, 9, and Aria, 6. This makes her feel very sad.
But the mother from Liverpool, England, is speaking out to warn others about strange symptoms.
Jennifer told NeedToKnow.Online, "The bad thing about being told you have cancer that can't be cured is that it takes away your hope for the future and stops you from making plans for how you will grow old with your family."
"I miss my husband already, and it hurts my heart to think about how he'll get along without me.
"We're best friends and take care of parenting together.
"I really don't want to miss out on important moments, but it makes me sad that my girls won't be able to ask me for advice in the future.
"I always want them to remember how much I loved them," she said.
Jennifer had surgery to get rid of the tumor on her brain soon after she found out she had it.
She also went through two years of hard chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
But at a routine appointment in April 2022, doctors found three new tumors that they couldn't remove.
Jennifer will have to keep getting chemo for the rest of her life to try to live longer.
"I was crushed because I'd been cancer-free for three years, which is twice as long as most people with this type of cancer live," she said.
"I'm sad that I'll have to take this drug for the rest of my life.
"But I'm thankful for all the extra days I get to spend with my wonderful family and friends."
Jennifer's treatment throws her around, making her tired and forcing her to get "lots of rest and naps," which is hard to do when you have young children.
"I feel the worst and sickest when I'm taking my chemotherapy drugs, but luckily that's only once every four weeks," Jennifer said.
"Dave and I help each other a lot, so I know my death will hurt him a lot, but I've asked him not to give up when it happens."
Not worth their time
Jennifer says she feels like her doctors didn't take her symptoms seriously and "treated me like I was wasting their time."
She said, "I wasn't misdiagnosed, but I was ignored and made to feel like a waste of time when I kept making appointments for the same problem in a matter of weeks."
Even though she is going through a hard time, the mom is determined to make memories with her family by spending as much time as possible with Emmy and Aria.
The caring mom has already taken them to Lapland to meet Santa Claus, and this year she was able to take her family on the "most amazing" trip ever to Disney World in Florida.
Jennifer said, "I've started putting together special boxes for my girls with letters for the important events I might miss."
"I put in things to help them remember me, like pictures of our best times together, my favorite perfume (so they can smell me again), and some of my jewelry.
"I've already started talking to them about growing up, making hard decisions, and knowing who to ask for help.
"Dave is also the best dad. I've taught him a lot about what girls want and need, and he's already a pro at doing their hair.
"I really believe in the power of optimism, and that's what's kept me going for so long.
"My favorite motto is to enjoy life to the fullest, because we only live once but die once."