Yorkshire mum inspired to become hospital chaplain after breast cancer battle

The Huddersfield mother-of-two, diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer at the age of 40, had carried her fear in silent courage as her hair fell away in her hands.

A decade on, and she says she can draw strength from the darkness of that time, as it set her first steps on a path she could never have imagined.

Having left a 20-year career as a speech and language therapist to work for Macmillan Cancer Support, she is now starting ordination training to become a vicar.

"I will always live under the shadow of cancer," she said. "I look back at my life, and I'm glad that I went through that journey.

"It has taken my life on a completely different path - a path I love, so that I can support people.

"Knowing that heartache and that pain, it does give you a natural empathy. It's not about preaching and praying, but about presence. In all things, good can come out of it."

Mrs Jones, an information centre manager for Macmillan Cancer Support, is well known in Kirkheaton where husband Ian is the parish vicar.

It was just after her 40th birthday, when their sons Oli and Ben were aged just eight and 11, that the diagnosis came, followed by a mastectomy and six months of chemotherapy.

"One month I was singing and dancing, the next I was weeping," she said. "I remember running a bath for them, and my hair falling into the water.

"It was a really tough year, a real test of my faith. It did give me the strength to get through the darkest days.

"Out of that my priorities and perspective on life changed. Maybe my life wasn't going to be as long as I'd always thought it would."

Having sought Christian support, Mrs Jones had been surprised to find there was little in the way of charities in the UK, and so launched her own, Firm Roots, which now has groups in Lancashire, Wales, Huddersfield, and soon in Leeds.

And leaving a career as a speech and language therapist, she now works for Macmillan at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, helping people face their own fears.

Rollercoaster of emotions

She lost her mother to cancer at 56, and a close friend at 44, and believes her own journey has given her a "natural empathy" to what others are going through.

Now she is about to take that one step further as she embarks on part-time training with the Church of England, with her heart set on becoming a hospital or hospice chaplain.

"I love the work I do with Macmillan," she said. "People often ask how I can, how hard it must be to have these conversations.

"I've experienced that rollercoaster of emotions, I have walked the walk. When bad things are happening, it's a comfort that I can be there as a listening ear.

"Whenever you hear 'cancer', you straight away think you're going to die. We had this massive change, that nobody could predict. It absolutely does change your life forever.

"The crisis has really highlighted the value of chaplains, not just in providing spiritual support but emotional care at the end of life. It would be a great privilege to be able to do that."

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James Mitchinson