Mom Thought ‘Stabbing Pain’ in Her Back Was from Lifting Her Kids — but It Was Terminal Breast Cancer

When Jennifer McNeill’s back started hurting, she thought she’d pulled a muscle after picking up her young children.

“The doctors said I had probably strained it whilst lifting them,” the mom of Millie, now 6, and Aidan, now 4, told South West News Service, via The Daily Mail.

She was told to seek physical therapy, but as the pain continued, McNeill, 34, went for private treatment. An MRI showed two fractures on her spine.  

But the Gourock, Scotland, mom says her condition continued to deteriorate. Soon she was unable to urinate, and the pain “got so severe that I could barely walk.” 

In July 2021, she sought treatment at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, where a CT scan discovered a cancerous tumor on her spine.

Doctors discovered that she had stage IV breast cancer that had spread to her spine.

“I was devastated and in shock — I never thought I had cancer — because obviously it never showed up when I had my scans,” she told SWNS. 

“I just couldn’t believe that after many visits to the hospital and to many doctors that it was terminal cancer and it was too late to do anything — it had already spread to my back and I haven’t had any issues with my breasts.”

She was referred to Ardgowan Hospice, where her pain was better managed. As McNeill explains, “I went in a wheelchair and I left it by walking through the door and that was due to the daily physiotherapy and support from the doctors and nurses.”

The family raised £30,000 (nearly $40,000 USD) for her hospital care — and fundraisers continue.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, McNeill is sharing her story to raise awareness of the importance of getting regular mammograms.

“I want to live each day to the max for my children, but I can’t due to pain and mobility. It kills me,” she said. “They expect me to be in bed, to be in pain and to be unable to walk. This is our life now.”

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“I have so many wonderful people in my life who have supported me so much. Honestly if love [could] save me, I’d be cured already.”

New guidelines say women should start getting regular mammograms at age 40. Although most insurance plans cover routine mammograms, the CDCs National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) offers screenings and other services to women who fall below the federal poverty limit, or don’t have insurance. (Click here to find a screening provider in your area.}