An ‘amazing’ family has faced a shocking double health crisis as both a mother and her 12-year-old daughter were diagnosed with cancers just three months apart
A mum and her 12-year-old daughter were heartbreakingly both diagnosed with cancer just a few months apart in a shocking double health crisis.
Janne Fitzsimmons, 49, saw her life change after she went to the GP to complain about migraines she had started to get, at the end of 2024. The mum-of-three was unfortunately diagnosed with advanced gynaecological cancer and she immediately started chemotherapy. Her family threw their support behind the mum during her difficult time but they had no idea their nightmare was about to get worse. Doctors found a tumour in her young daughter Holly’s neck just three months later.
The 12-year-old was suffering with neck pain and was told she would need “risky” and “complex” surgery to remove an “extremely rare” tumour. Both mother and daughter are set to undergo more gruelling treatment for the heartbreaking illnesses, in the coming weeks.
Janne is preparing for major abdominal surgery just as Holly begins six weeks of intensive radiotherapy at The Christie in Manchester.
Close family friend Eleanor Davey told the Manchester Evening News: “It has been horrendous. Janne was diagnosed and started chemotherapy and then Holly, who is just a ray of sunshine, was rushed into emergency surgery.”
Eleanor said it was “touch and go” whether Holly might be paralysed from the surgery, which involved doctors removing her vertebrae and cutting through her spinal cord to remove the tumour. Thankfully she pulled through, but is now undergoing intensive cancer treatments as well as rehabilitation to regain her mobility and deal with ongoing nerve pain and numbness.
The friend added: “It has been very tough on the family. It is everyone’s worst nightmare, especially that operation for Holly where it was touch and go. Janne and Andrew [her husband] are being so brave. It’s very surreal. Janne and Holly now have this very unusual bond that nobody would ever want to have with their child.”
She also revealed the health ordeal has been financially hard on the family because Janne and Andrew are both self-employed. Eleanor and other friends and family members have come together to set up a GoFundMe page to support the parents and their three children – which could also go towards any further treatments Holly and Janne might need.
The fundraiser said: “With Janne unable to work due to treatment and Andrew dedicating himself full-time to caring for his wife and daughters, the family has no stable income during this critical period. Any donation – no matter the size – would mean the world to this resilient and generous family.”
Janne and Holly have unfortunately not been the only mother and daughter to be diagnosed with cancer just months apart from each other. Jessica Warrington, 31, and her mother, Sarah Voy, 53, found out they had the same type of cancer within months.
The mum and daughter from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, revealed that their symptoms were initially dismissed as menopause and asthma by medical professionals.