Background -

In March 2023 shortly after discovering she was pregnant with her third child, Jodie noticed a slight change to an existing mole on the back of her calf. This was dismissed initially as a Seborrheic keratosis by her GP, and once again later in the year when Jodie raised her concerns that the mole appeared to have grown more. Jodie was advised to mention these changes in her post-natal appointment after the birth of her baby, at which point her GP made a referral to another local GP surgery for it to be removed. In December 2023, the mole was only partially removed (surface scraped) as the medical professions were not concerned that it was anything serious at the time. Jodie was informed that if anything showed up in the biopsy results she would be called within a few weeks. Jodie didn’t hear anything and went on to enjoy the first Christmas as a family of 5, overjoyed with happiness that her family unit was now perfectly complete with Maddison’s arrival. Jodie’s checked in with GP after Christmas to ensure the results were benign, however in a further cruel twist of fate, it transpired that her medical records had not been shared back to her referring GP. Jodie received a call back later that day to be told the awful news that she had melanoma skin cancer.

This became the start of a year full of bad news, as the cancer spread to the lymph node in her leg, giving the cancer the ability to travel through her body at a rapid rate. On Jodie’s birthday on 23rd May 2024, she was told by her Consultant that the cancer was incurable, and that the only option available to her was a treatment to prolong the time she had left with her babies. Unfortunately, the cancer was extremely aggressive and upon every hospital visit and admission, she was told of another new tumour.

Jodie’s last hospital admission at Weston Park Hospital was at the beginning of December, where she stayed for the last 8 weeks of her life. Unfortunately, this meant that the family were unable to go on the special trip to Filey that Jodie had planned for them. During these extremely difficult weeks there were amazing moments, which we feel blessed that Jodie, Mark, and the children were able to experience. The first being her lifelong wish of becoming Mark’s wife in a beautiful ceremony that staff at Weston Park helped facilitate. The second was Christmas, with Sheffield United making a special visit to their Blades-mad family before the hospital provided a Christmas eve sleepover for the children.

Jodie was 38 years old when she took her last breath on Friday 24th January 2025, only a year after her diagnosis, and 2 days before Hudson’s 7th birthday.

Donations -

Jodie’s loved ones are understandably going through so much right now, and regardless of whether you knew Jodie or not, her story is truly tragic and will affect many people. Three young children are left without their mummy, and Mark is now a widower with 3 children under the age of 10 to raise.

Through difficult times comes community spirit and we have already had many people ask if there is anything they can do to help, both practically and financially. With that in mind, we have set up this Just Giving page to do just that. This will allow Mark some breathing space to grieve without the added pressures of returning to his self employed job immediately, and any financial burdens that come with this. This will give Mark time to focus on the most important three little people right now, creating stability and having quality time with Skyla, Hudson and Maddison as they adapt to life without Jodie. Hopefully, they will be able to do some nice things together this year, maybe even going on a little break after their holiday was cancelled in December. Jodie was an incredible mum, who lived for her children, and we know that she would be so grateful for everyone’s support to look after them.

Awareness -

As a family, we have a lot of “what if’s” right now, as to whether this outcome could have been prevented. Jodie wasn’t a sun-worshipper, or a sunbed user, which are the types of factors you associate with this type of cancer. We urge everyone to be aware of this cruel disease and pay attention to any changes to their skin. For more information on signs and symptoms, please see https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/skin-cancer/symptoms?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAneK8BhAVEiwAoy2HYX761cVz6Rltlml_jFxybiL83qe4Ry5AP4n21_XpwyzM1puI6PYTbBoCfLAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

In the future we are keen to get family and friends involved in fundraising activities in Jodie’s memory towards cancer research and support. However right now, our number one concern are Mark and his babies.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at Weston Park for the care and support they provided to Jodie and the family.