Killeavy<\/a> \u2013 told Armagh I that in November of 2024 she was otherwise well and in good health but had been suffering with what she can only describe as a \u201cmouth ulcer\u201d on the back of her tongue that just wouldn\u2019t go away.<\/p>\nOther than being bothersome it wasn\u2019t causing her any trouble.\u00a0She assumed \u2013 as many would \u2013 that it wasn\u2019t healing because it was \u201crubbing off her teeth\u201d.<\/p>\n
Then in January 2025, she said it began getting \u201creally painful\u201d and she was struggling to eat and drink, so she booked herself an appointment to see a dentist in February.<\/p>\n
Like Jennifer, the dentist wasn\u2019t entirely sure what it was but, she says, he \u201clooked at her carefully for about an hour\u201d before referring her to Oral Medicine in Craigavon.<\/p>\n
On March 20, she attended that appointment in Craigavon. There, she said they took one look and said, \u201cwe need to biopsy this\u201d.<\/p>\n
She asked, \u201cDo you think it\u2019s cancer?\u201d They said, yes. But the news didn\u2019t entirely come as a surprise to Jennifer.<\/p>\n
For months she had been doing her own research \u2013 and while she knows \u2018Dr Google\u2019 is never to be trusted \u2013 she had in many ways prepared herself for the worst.<\/p>\n
The medical team sent her biopsy off and made additional referrals in the interim. Two weeks later, the biopsy revealed what she already knew was coming.<\/p>\n
However, an additional blow was dealt when Jennifer\u2019s surgeon in Dundonald hospital informed her that her cancer was Stage Four, squamous cell carcinoma.<\/p>\n
She was told she would need surgery, radiotherapy and possibly chemotherapy to tackle the growth and diseased cells.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very, very complicated surgery. It was 15 hours long,\u201d said Jennifer of her partial glossectomy surgery. \u201cIt was to remove the tumour from the tongue and then they take a free flap from your arm \u2013 which is a flap of skin along with all the blood vessels that go to it \u2013 to replace a part of the tongue.<\/p>\n
There were two surgeons. One to remove the tumour and one to do the plastics part of it. Because my tumour was so far back they had to crack my whole jaw open. It had spread to the lymph nodes as well and they had to remove 39 lymph nodes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The surgery she describes as \u201chorrendous\u201d but, given that her surgeon informed her that without undergoing the procedure she would have had \u201ca year to live\u201d, she knew it was her only option.<\/p>\n
At that stage she had only been married two years, she had her mum and brother too to think about and while she says \u201cI didn\u2019t have a fear of dying\u201d, she also had far too much to live for.<\/p>\n
The surgery itself was set for her second wedding anniversary but a cancellation came up and she was moved to the Monday prior.<\/p>\n
When she came around from the anaesthetic, she found she had a tracheostomy \u2013 a tube inserted to facilitate breathing \u2013 as the swelling in her neck from the surgery would have otherwise compromised her ability to breathe.<\/p>\n
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The tracheostomy tube remained in place for nine days. During that time she couldn\u2019t speak or eat unassisted and had to use a writing board to communicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was awful\u201d, she said. \u201cIt has to be suctioned by staff every half-an-hour or hour because you\u2019re constantly choking on secretions\u201d.<\/p>\n
She had a feeding tube through her nose, drains in throughout the dissections.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThey do warn you that you\u2019re going to feel like you want to die\u2026 that you\u2019re going to die and that\u2019s exactly how I felt. I didn\u2019t want to be there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
After 11 days, Jennifer surprised the medical team and all involved with her rapid recovery. She had her feeding tube removed, tracheostomy removed and was allowed home.<\/p>\n
She started radiotherapy but sadly, just three days in, found she couldn\u2019t swallow and had to have the feeding tube re-inserted, she said, \u201cthe radiotherapy was going straight through my neck and totally burning my skin, it was like open burns.\u201d<\/p>\n
After finishing a gruelling 35 rounds of radiotherapy over five days a week for seven and a half weeks, Jennifer ended up once again \u201cvery sick\u201d with shingles in her eye and mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring radiotherapy your mouth just fills with ulcers. You can\u2019t eat or drink\u2026 it\u2019s nearly impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that point in her seemingly never-ending journey of pain and problems, Jennifer had to receive a syringe driver. While it looked scary to those around her, Jennifer knew it was harmless and only to help her control the pain.<\/p>\n
Today, Jennifer thankfully has no sign of present cancer cells in her body. She does, however, have her war wounds.<\/p>\n
She says she still suffers with a speech impediment that she\u2019s receiving speech and language help with, she doesn\u2019t produce very much saliva and so drinks water constantly, she has swallowing problems that causes her to choke on food, the chemotherapy sent her into early menopause, the radiotherapy gave her an underactive thyroid, she has chronic pain \u201cfrom top to bottom\u201d, brain fog and fatigue.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life has totally turned around,\u201d said Jennifer. She now sees counsellors and psychologists to help her come to terms with what she has endured.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me it\u2019s a form of mourning,\u201d she continued. \u201cYou go into a restaurant and see people tucking into a big burger or a steak. Your life revolves so much around food, everyone\u2019s does. It is awful but it\u2019s about learning to live with it. It\u2019s a new normal as they call it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May, she bravely started to document her experience via TikTok. Her account \u2013 known as Jen\u2019s Journey | SCC \u2013 has grown to boast over 3,000 followers that provide her with an indescribable support network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have helped me so much,\u201d said Jennifer. \u201cIt just really helped push me on\u201d.<\/p>\n
She also feels strongly about using the channel to spread awareness for head, mouth and neck cancers and to urge people to immediately check lumps and sores that feel out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n
If she can help one person, she will have made a difference \u2013 and that\u2019s all that matters, she said.<\/p>\n
Anyone wanting to speak to Jennifer directly is encouraged to reach out through TikTok. She would be more than happy to chat.<\/p>\n
You can follow Jennifer\u2019s journey via TikTok here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
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