Fixing the unfixable.

"Jack came to us needing life-saving treatment that was also taking away huge chunks of his week and his month," Jane explains.

"He was understandably determined to carry on, but the treatment was having a huge negative impact on his quality of life. Our work together has been about balancing his illness with his identity and his family life."

Over several years, Jane has walked alongside Jack through his many treatments and the shifting sands of his diagnoses.

"We’ve navigated this together," she says. "A big part of our work is helping Jack live with uncertainty – noticing the future without being overwhelmed by it and making the most of the here and now with his family."

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“Jane helped me to see that I still have more life,” Jack says. “She told me, ‘noisy patients live longer,’ and encouraged me to advocate for myself.”

That advocacy has seen the Cronin family through what Claire describes as a “rollercoaster” where the cancer spread to other areas of Jack’s body, including his lungs. After a period where they believed he was in remission, a scan last year confirmed it had moved to Jack’s spine, and the focus of his treatment shifted to palliative care.

“The floor fell through,” Jack recalls. “I went down to a very dark layer. I was in a crisis, a breakdown. I couldn’t think straight.

“Jane helped me understand that I wasn’t going to disappear next week and to just embrace the life I have left.”

On the next page, read how Jack overcame 'crippling' pain with support from Mountbatten Isle of Wight's Consultant Nurse Jackie Whiller.

Click here to turn the page and read more >

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