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Cornwall woman survives ‘pants area cancer’ and helps change people’s lives
When Jeannette Preston launched her charity 16 years ago to raise awareness of ‘pants area’ cancers, she “never dreamt of what it has become today.” She started to speak out about the disease after she was diagnosed with endometrial (womb) cancer in 2007 and underwent a total hysterectomy.
After her treatment, Jeanette started tracking down other sufferers online. She found that many women think that once a smear test is over, they are in the clear in the pants department.
However, smears do not show all types of cancer, such as womb, ovarian, vulva or fallopian. The symptoms are often vague and women going through the menopause think it is something to do with that.
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“Sadly few people talk about womb cancer and often, but certainly not exclusively, it affects older women and the key symptom is post-menopausal bleeding – which I completely ignored,” she explained. “It wasn’t until I went to the doctor for something different and mentioned that I’d had some bleeding after my periods had stopped, that I was fast tracked to the gynae cancer team at Treliske where I was diagnosed and needed treatment.”
Having previously worked as a nurse at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCH) in Truro and seen patients dying of womb cancer because they hadn’t been able to recognise the signs and symptoms soon enough, Jeannette decided that she wanted to do something to raise more awareness.
“I had surgery for womb cancer on February 28, 2007, and although no one knew I had, when I returned to work six weeks later I realised the staff group might have no idea what to look out for and something clicked in my brain to say I must speak out or people will die”, she said. “And I haven’t stopped talking since.”
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Jeannette spoke to her gynae cancer surgeon at RCH and asked for help on her mission to make more people aware of pants area cancers. After creating a mission statement and getting the team on board, she started off handing out leaflets on street corners and in supermarket foyers, to try to spread the word about smear tests for cervical cancers and what to look out for. But with few people engaging with her, she was determined to find other ways to get them interested.
So, she decided to do some research and spoke to local businesses, charities, and groups to find out how they were getting their messages across to people. Then one day, she came across a premises in the heart of Falmouth, which she noticed was available to rent and immediately envisioned its potential.
“I walked past the old post office on Killigrew Street in Falmouth, and saw it was for rental, so I rang up Miller Commercial to find out what it might cost so I could put it in [my] business plan,” she explained. “By the end of the day I was speaking to the landlord, agreeing a half price deal, explaining I had no experience of retail so if it didn’t work could I get out.
“It was all agreed and I was in three weeks later, [while] still nursing part time at King Charles Court nursing home in Falmouth. I had no help, no retail knowledge, no idea if it would work – a leap in the dark – my dear husband who is a businessman and never acts impulsively must have been horrified.”
Since then, she has launched Pants Cancer, which has become a registered charity encouraging men and women to be aware of the cancers you get in your underwear area – the gynaecological cancers – cervical, ovarian, vaginal, vulvar and womb, prostate, testicular and bowel.
It now has two charity shops around Falmouth – one on Webber Street and the other in Ponsharden opposite Sainsburys – as well as a rehabilitation centre in Waterside House in Penryn, which helps around 50 people a week. It’s run by cancer rehab specialist, Steve Winnan, who met Jeannette by chance after he was recommended to her for some personal training after her cancer treatment.
Over the years, Jeannette and her team have spread the word of ‘pants area’ cancers and helped many patients through their rehabilitation. Recently, she was given the King’s award for Voluntary Service as a Coronation Champion, which recognised the work she has done as part of the charity.
Speaking about winning the award Jeannette told CornwallLive: “It was phenomenal. I cried and I’m not a crying person. I wasn’t expecting it at all, when the postman came with the parcel, I told him I didn’t think we were expecting anything, so I almost didn’t accept it.
“It was fantastic to get it and such an honour to be recognised. For many years it was just me on my own and it’s been a phenomenal journey. I can’t quite put it into words how I feel.”
The award included seats in the Royal Box for the Concert, which followed the Coronation. Unfortunately, Jeannette and her husband, Roger, were unable to make it, so they gave the seats to Steve instead.
“My husband wasn’t well at the time so we couldn’t make it but I knew I wanted to give them to Steve to enjoy instead,” Jeannette said. “We watched it on TV and it dawned on me then just how amazing it was to win the award.”
Jeannette’s work still continues as she works to raise awareness of pants area cancers, as well as the HPV vaccine for young people, which could help prevent the disease. “It hurts me when I meet people who have cancer, which they wouldn’t have had if they knew what to look out for,” she said.
“I remember when I began nursing in 1967, one of the first patients I nursed was a woman dying of womb cancer, because no one talked about it, no one knew the signs and symptoms and almost invariably women mentioned it when it was too late to do anything. Thankfully things have changed.
“It’s been 17 years since I was diagnosed with cancer, and I’m lucky to still be here and recovered because I was able to get treatment. But now we need to encourage more young people to get the HPV vaccine because it plays an important role in preventing pants area cancers.”
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