When Jade Lagden, 29, received a new Michael Kors bag from her partner in late July, she was “over the moon” and couldn’t wait to begin using it.
After just a couple days of having the bag, however, Lagden suddenly developed pain in her shoulder and neck. She suspected it was the weight of her bag – she liked to carry around all of her belongings with her at all times – and the pain was just caused by a pulled muscle that needed time to heal.
Even so, Lagden refused “to stop wearing [her] new bag.”
But as the weeks wore on, the pain only continued to get worse. Six weeks later, Lagden finally went to the doctor to get CT and bone scans to diagnose the problem.
Doctors discovered that Lagden had secondary cancer in her liver and its surrounding lymph nodes.
Lagden was “devastated” to receive the news. “I'd already battled breast cancer at 25 in 2013 and was in remission. I’d undergone chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a mastectomy and full reconstruction in 2015 after battling breast cancer,” she explained. “I was later told I had the BRCA gene – which causes hereditary breast cancer – and I didn't want to risk it ever coming back so I had both boobs removed.”
Realizing that this extensive treatment still wasn’t enough to save her from her illness was a huge blow for Lagden – but she knew she couldn’t just give in to the disease.
“I am thankful that I caught the cancer when I did as at least I can have treatment and create more memories with my son, Taylor, now 11,” she said.
Lagden is currently in the process of working with her friends to raise money for her treatment – six rounds of chemotherapy and many follow-up scans to assess her progress.
As with her previous chemotherapy sessions, Lagden’s current treatment causes her pain, “But the pain [in my shoulder] has subsided slightly and when I go out, I still take my handbag everywhere.”
When asked why, Lagden explains, “I love it and if it wasn't for my new bag, I might not have experienced such severe pain and my cancer could have spread further.”
