Mum-of-three Janne and 12-year-old Holly are both battling cancer after a devastating double diagnosis
Janne and Holly Fitzsimmons are facing a devastating double health crisis after they were both handed cancer diagnoses just months apart
An ‘amazing’ family are facing a devastating double health crisis after a beloved mum and her 12-year-old daughter were both diagnosed with cancer just a few months apart.
Mum-of-three Janne Fitzsimmons, 49, apppeared happy and healthy before she started to develop migraines at the end of 2024. She visited her GP, and following blood tests, was diagnosed with advanced gynaecological cancer, for which she had to start immediate chemotherapy.
The family threw themselves into supporting Janne, but little did they know their nightmare had only just begun. Just three months later, daughter Holly, who had been suffering with neck pain, was told she urgently needed to have ‘risky’ and ‘complex’ surgery to remove an ‘extremely rare’ tumour in her neck.
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“It has been horrendous,” close family friend Eleanor Davey told the Manchester Evening News. “Janne was diagnosed and started chemotherapy and then Holly, who is just a ray of sunshine, was rushed into emergency surgery.”
Eleanor said it was ‘touch and go’ whether Holly might be paralysed from the surgery, which involved doctors removing her vertebrae and cutting through her spinal cord to remove the tumour. Thankfully she pulled through, but is now undergoing intensive cancer treatments as well as rehabilitation to regain her mobility and deal with ongoing nerve pain and numbness.
Over the coming weeks, both Janne and Holly are set to undergo further gruelling treatment for their illnesses. Janne is preparing for major abdominal surgery just as Holly begins six weeks of intensive radiotherapy at The Christie in Manchester.
Janne and Holly are both undergoing treatment
“It has been very tough on the family,” Eleanor said. “It is everyone’s worst nightmare, especially that operation for Holly where it was touch and go. Janne and Andrew [her husband] are being so brave.
“It’s very surreal. Janne and Holly now have this very unusual bond that nobody would ever want to have with their child.”
She added it was especially tough financially on the family as Janne and Andrew are both self-employed. Eleanor, alongside other friends of the family Lou Mutch and Umeeda Nathoo, have set up a GoFundMe to support them through this time and help with any future treatments Holly and Janne may need.
“With Janne unable to work due to treatment and Andrew dedicating himself full-time to caring for his wife and daughters, the family has no stable income during this critical period,” the GoFundMe reads. “Any donation – no matter the size – would mean the world to this resilient and generous family.”
The family have issued a QR code which you can use to donate
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