In February 2020 Jessica was diagosed with linitus plastica, a rare type of gastric cancer. Within a year this terrible disease had overcome her and Jessica passed away on 15th January 2021, one day before her birthday.

At the time of diagnosis the malignancy had matasticised and therefore treatment options were already limited. Jessica bravely opted for a savage course of chemotherapy and the tests showed that this effectively limited cancerous activity, giving us a few more very precious months with her, spending one last Christmas with her and watching one last season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with her.

Nearly 40% of people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. It is easy to read that statistic as a sterile probability, but for each of those affected families 100% of their world will collapse upon diagnosis. In this circumstance more than most it is true to say 'knowledge is power'. Jessica had a late diagnosis, which limited treatment options, which minimised effectiveness and ultimately cost her time with her loved ones.

Increased cancer research will have so many benefits, ranging from earlier disease identification, more efficatious treatment options, better support for the patient and more education around prevention.

Jessica never got to meet her grandchildren. Please consdier dontating to this page so that more grandchildren everywhere will enjoy being sneaked forbidden chocolate behind their parents back, taken to the swimming pool on a Saturday and played with in the park all by their loving grandma, in a way which Jessica's will not.