this is so sad. i think your title is a little insensitive though…even just adding a “has” like Jade Goody ‘has’ died of cervical cancer is a bit more sensitive.
I am genuinely sorry that any young woman, especially one leaving two young sons behind, has died. Havin experience in the medical field specialising in oncology it has never failed to break my heart.
And I know I am going to be slated here but here goes
1)”The UK reality show star had lived out her final months quite publicly with the hopes of raising awareness of cervical cancer screenings and prevention”
She has lived all her life publicly since entering Big Brother before her illness she only raised the issue of her own fame hunger, jealousy and racism – her choice not anyone else’s.
2)”She leaves behind two sons, Freddie, 4, and Bobby, 5.”
This is the tragedy that I won’t comment on.
3)”Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.”
Why? Did he know her? Did he think she was a model human being? Does he know what makes her different from any of the other young mother’s who have died before their time? Is it just because she is in the public eye?
4)”Jade’s devastated mother said: ‘Family and friends would like privacy at last.’
This is the same fame hungry woman who gged Jade on in the bullying of Shilpa Shetty. This is the woman who has only seen her daughter as a ‘cash cow’. This is a woman who has also sought the limelight.
5) “Whether you liked Jade Goody or not, this situation is terribly sad. A 27-year-old woman with two little boys should not have to die like this.”
I agree with you completely CB but I have unfortunately seen many young women and men go to their death through cancer. Many that the public eye don’t care for. I am glad that awareness is being raised but Jade’s death is not the first cancer tragedy and nor will it be the last – merely the most publicised.
@Jack – not the place, let it go. It’s way past the time for criticism. It’s a sad end and I wish her two little boys good memories of her and a happy, love-filled upbringing (something Jade didn’t have.)
He commented because he was asked for a comment and she’s been in the news 24/7 for the past 6 months. It takes nothing away from anyone that he sympathised with her and her family on the news of her death. Move on.
I really don’t know much about her. I have heard some things about her that made me not care for her very much, but as Geronimo said, this isn’t the place for criticism.
It’s very sad she died, but I have delurked in regard to the comment about making sure your daughters get the vaccine.It has been linked to seziues and motor problems, and one girl even died from it.These side effects aren’t published of course though. HPV, one of the causes of cervical cancer, can be stopped by condom usage, mass mediacating millons of young woman isn’t nessacary and in my opinion, is quite dangerous.
My govenment has made the vaccine free, I really believe that money should go to training more lab technicains so less woman get false positives. I have spoken at length with a lot of friends and family members and we all agree that what puts us off isn’t the pap smear its self, but times when they have been told it’s “abnormal” when it has just been misread by overworked lab technicans. One of my cousins went through her entire pregnancy terrified that she had cancer when it was just a lab mistake. I hate to harp on, and I know my spelling is awful, but all this bullshit about the vaccine really gets my goat, the public isn’t being properly informed about the dangers and an already super rich drug company is going to get even richer while badly underfunded public health clinics are getting overlooked.
Condoms do not prevent STD’s 100% of the time. Also, men do not show symptoms of HPV, so if you’re with your boyfriend in a monogamous relationship and he claims to have been tested but hasn’t, he could give you HPV. Also, what if you’re raped? 1 in 4 women is raped in her lifetime. It’s not like you can choose a condom in those circumstances; you have no control over it.
I’m glad that I got the HPV vaccine. All vaccines have side effects, but very rarely do they affect anyone. In the United States, it is illegal to conceal side effects – they are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and you can be damn well sure they’re published.
After a friend passed away from cervical cancer I asked my dr. a million questions and she informed me that if it’s caught early, full recovery is likely, but that yearly screenings are the key.
don’t know this woman, but she faced her death with such a brave face that i feel sad now she has gone.
sending prayers to those who knew and loved her.
saying prayers for her soul. may she rest in peace.
1st of all, my sympathies and condolences go out to her family.
🙁
RIP, Jade. May you find everlasting peace and serenity without pain in paradise.
I was never a fan of hers, but anyone going through adversity, in this case, of her health, deserves support by any length. And that’s what the people who knew her as the UK Reality Star who was fighting cancer, gave. This comes as a huge shock to me. I turned off my laptop.. then i heard this from the radio.. never have i been any shocker in hearing news about death than this (the other’s was aaliyah’s passing, RIP A.).. But Jade represents strength..
call jade all you want, you cannot hurt her now, but jade has raised awareness of cervical cancer enormously here in the uk, so much so that the age for testing is hopefully being lowered to what it used to be 25 (I believe but not sure) but whatever i’m sure she has done her best to raise awareness and yes get paid for it so she ensures her boys have a better education than she had. God bless her. R.I.P jade
The United Kingdom ONLY screens every 3 years and ONLY from the age of 25. This MUST change. Jade herself outlines the events of her eventual diagnosis in more detail and more accurately than I can recall here (check youtube) but it seems she was proactive in seeking a hospital diagnosis and was given the all clear – this despite experiencing heavy bleeding and extreme pain last year on more than one occassion and having pre-cancerous cells burned off in her late teens. Perhaps she may have lived to a ripe old age had her govt. through it’s health system, not failed her… or at least worked harder at her particular case. And perhaps that’s why Gordon Brown is sorry. It’s a tragedy, for sure. I can’t stand media wh*res, but in her case, she did the right thing when she sold her cancer story to the media for as much money as she could get. She just wanted to make sure he children got a proper education and standard of living – something she had been denied. And she WILL save other women with this publicity. Brave woman.
I believe she was informed by the hospital that suspicious cells had showed up in her smear test, but she ignored the letter for quite some time. Only when it was too late did she go in for treatment. That’s how the cancer became so serious. When you’re young, cancer cells spread far more quickly and aggressively. I find the misconception that cancer is an old person’s disease to be very dangerous in that it leaves people feeling falsely complacent about their tests and screenings. Please don’t neglect your health, and cut down on drinking and smoking if you can’t quit altogether, because those habits are the ones that make cancer all the more likely (causing your cells to mutate if they are already predisposed to do so).
Okay, thank you Bina for the clarification. A UK website I looked at says that the cancer takes an average of 10-12 years to develop after abnormal cells are present. Perhaps she thought she had more time. What was the hospital’s follow-up procedures? What official advice had she been given? What sense of urgency had been conveyed? IDK. It’s a shame.
Jesus “Jack”, Did Jade Goody do something to you? you sure are “on” today, when all thats required is humility… But thats just me, I see the waste of a mother to her children and the fears she must have held for them, the desperation…the harsh reality… maybe Im too sensitive, but I scheduled a test, haven’t had one in 4 years, it just seems such a waste, whether you liked her or not, she is now the face of hundreds of women each year…and a reminder to hundreds more.
Raising awareness of the need for cervical cancer screenings, reminding people to wear a helmet while skiing, reinforcing the message that women are at risk from violent partners – the ability to deliver these messages is the positive side of our culture’s celebrity fixation.
Stories like Jade Goody’s have more of an impact than a thousand traditional “public service announcements.”
I never watch shows like Big Brother or Survivor but I’ll tell you what, this story just breaks my heart. She was so young and leaving behind 2 young children – there are no other words except heartbreaking. I think she has done an enormous good deed by documenting her struggle. Maybe people will start taking their health and well being more seriously. I know I have. Thank you, Jade!
I was so sad to wake up and find she died, but at least it was in her sleep. I feel so bad for her kids, but they can be proud of what she did- making screenings happen more often, she has probably saved lives. I live in the US and I’ve had a pap every year since I was 16. I’m very thankful for that privilege and I hope it becomes available everywhere. Rest in Peace, Jade <3
(and “Jack”-STFU! If you knew you were going to get shit for saying something so clearly f*cked up, then why say it?)
Wow, I had no idea that routine cancer screenings were like that in the UK. I’m in the US and I’m only 20, and I’ve had cervical cancer screenings since I started being sexually active every year.
Jag that’s a good point – the cervical cancer vaccine that I received protects me against the HPV strains that cause 70% of cervical cancer, so there’s still 30% unaccounted for. Still, it’s better than not getting it at all.
Let’s not forget that two little boys lost their Mom, a mother lost her daughter, a young man lost his wife. Regardless of what she’s done in the past, passing away when being only 27 years old is very, very sad!
My heart goes out to her loved ones!
Apparently she ignored TWO followup letters from the hospital. They can’t force you to comply with their recommendations, so I guess they just let it go after that. Lord knows they have enough patients who want treatment that they would give up on someone who rejects it.
Lord rest her soul. A sad end to a remarkable life, regardless of whether you liked her or not.
Just to divert onto the vaccination question for a moment. I admit that I am pro-vaccination, coupled with regular testing as a two-pronged approach. However I would be interested in reading the converse side – me, could you provide the references to where you got your information?
Out of curiosity, if it had never been published, how did you find out that somebody died as a direct result of the vaccine? (my condolences if it was someone close to you)
No one deserves to suffer through cancer and at such a young age as well. No child deserves to lose their mommy either. Like her or hate her, she’s didn’t deserve to lose her life. I feel for her kids.
To all of you who seem to think you know about cancer and how Jade contracted the disease and how she could have prevented it – I have news for you – YOU ARE SO WRONG.
If you are going to have an opinion on something , please check your facts first.
Jade had regular smear tests ( as regular as prescribed by the medical health authority in the UK). Unfortunatley, jade has been one of those unlucky ones where her form of cancer was aggressive and there is nothing you can do about aggressive forms of cancer. I am a researcher involved in cancer research and unfortunatley there are people who have cancer and are just unlucky to get the aggressive form before it has been detected. From most of your opinions you seem to think that Jade could have prvented this – No she could not.
Jade was a very brave person fighting a horrible, nasty disease which was not curable. Get off your sopaboxes people and fhave some bloody compassion for a woman who was battling against an incurable disease
I got the HPV vaccination just before the age of twenty six. Truly, I doubts about this for quite a while. I just read a great deal about this and was terrified on discovering there’s unwanted effects. We could just pray to The almighty to guard people since medical science could save life however it could also cripple us in some instances.
this is so sad. i think your title is a little insensitive though…even just adding a “has” like Jade Goody ‘has’ died of cervical cancer is a bit more sensitive.
I am genuinely sorry that any young woman, especially one leaving two young sons behind, has died. Havin experience in the medical field specialising in oncology it has never failed to break my heart.
And I know I am going to be slated here but here goes
1)”The UK reality show star had lived out her final months quite publicly with the hopes of raising awareness of cervical cancer screenings and prevention”
She has lived all her life publicly since entering Big Brother before her illness she only raised the issue of her own fame hunger, jealousy and racism – her choice not anyone else’s.
2)”She leaves behind two sons, Freddie, 4, and Bobby, 5.”
This is the tragedy that I won’t comment on.
3)”Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.”
Why? Did he know her? Did he think she was a model human being? Does he know what makes her different from any of the other young mother’s who have died before their time? Is it just because she is in the public eye?
4)”Jade’s devastated mother said: ‘Family and friends would like privacy at last.’
This is the same fame hungry woman who gged Jade on in the bullying of Shilpa Shetty. This is the woman who has only seen her daughter as a ‘cash cow’. This is a woman who has also sought the limelight.
5) “Whether you liked Jade Goody or not, this situation is terribly sad. A 27-year-old woman with two little boys should not have to die like this.”
I agree with you completely CB but I have unfortunately seen many young women and men go to their death through cancer. Many that the public eye don’t care for. I am glad that awareness is being raised but Jade’s death is not the first cancer tragedy and nor will it be the last – merely the most publicised.
RIP Jade. I didn’t know who she was on UK BB, but I followed Jade’s poignant story in OK!Mag and the pics and story really touched me.
Jack you make a lot of sense. Why Gordon Brown commented is beyond me, typical politician worrying more about the idiot celebs than veterans.
@Jack – not the place, let it go. It’s way past the time for criticism. It’s a sad end and I wish her two little boys good memories of her and a happy, love-filled upbringing (something Jade didn’t have.)
He commented because he was asked for a comment and she’s been in the news 24/7 for the past 6 months. It takes nothing away from anyone that he sympathised with her and her family on the news of her death. Move on.
I really don’t know much about her. I have heard some things about her that made me not care for her very much, but as Geronimo said, this isn’t the place for criticism.
It’s very sad she died, but I have delurked in regard to the comment about making sure your daughters get the vaccine.It has been linked to seziues and motor problems, and one girl even died from it.These side effects aren’t published of course though. HPV, one of the causes of cervical cancer, can be stopped by condom usage, mass mediacating millons of young woman isn’t nessacary and in my opinion, is quite dangerous.
My govenment has made the vaccine free, I really believe that money should go to training more lab technicains so less woman get false positives. I have spoken at length with a lot of friends and family members and we all agree that what puts us off isn’t the pap smear its self, but times when they have been told it’s “abnormal” when it has just been misread by overworked lab technicans. One of my cousins went through her entire pregnancy terrified that she had cancer when it was just a lab mistake. I hate to harp on, and I know my spelling is awful, but all this bullshit about the vaccine really gets my goat, the public isn’t being properly informed about the dangers and an already super rich drug company is going to get even richer while badly underfunded public health clinics are getting overlooked.
Condoms do not prevent STD’s 100% of the time. Also, men do not show symptoms of HPV, so if you’re with your boyfriend in a monogamous relationship and he claims to have been tested but hasn’t, he could give you HPV. Also, what if you’re raped? 1 in 4 women is raped in her lifetime. It’s not like you can choose a condom in those circumstances; you have no control over it.
I’m glad that I got the HPV vaccine. All vaccines have side effects, but very rarely do they affect anyone. In the United States, it is illegal to conceal side effects – they are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and you can be damn well sure they’re published.
RIP Jade
Great points, Shannon. Always good when misconceptions are cleared.
After a friend passed away from cervical cancer I asked my dr. a million questions and she informed me that if it’s caught early, full recovery is likely, but that yearly screenings are the key.
don’t know this woman, but she faced her death with such a brave face that i feel sad now she has gone.
sending prayers to those who knew and loved her.
saying prayers for her soul. may she rest in peace.
There are two HPV vaccines currently, and neither protect from all the strains of HPV or cervical cancer – just the most common.
Women should still get pap smears and use condoms… and give sexual education, age appropriately, to their children – both boys and girls.
1st of all, my sympathies and condolences go out to her family.
🙁
RIP, Jade. May you find everlasting peace and serenity without pain in paradise.
I was never a fan of hers, but anyone going through adversity, in this case, of her health, deserves support by any length. And that’s what the people who knew her as the UK Reality Star who was fighting cancer, gave. This comes as a huge shock to me. I turned off my laptop.. then i heard this from the radio.. never have i been any shocker in hearing news about death than this (the other’s was aaliyah’s passing, RIP A.).. But Jade represents strength..
God Bless.
i have a question. how did she contract the illness?
call jade all you want, you cannot hurt her now, but jade has raised awareness of cervical cancer enormously here in the uk, so much so that the age for testing is hopefully being lowered to what it used to be 25 (I believe but not sure) but whatever i’m sure she has done her best to raise awareness and yes get paid for it so she ensures her boys have a better education than she had. God bless her. R.I.P jade
The greatest tool we have in fighting cervical cancer is our yearly pap smear tests. Please, PLEASE never skip one.
Make the time.
Geronimo: nicely put.
@geronimo: Ditto! Good Lord! I bet “Jack” never shuts up. Probably likes the sound of their voice too much.
The United Kingdom ONLY screens every 3 years and ONLY from the age of 25. This MUST change. Jade herself outlines the events of her eventual diagnosis in more detail and more accurately than I can recall here (check youtube) but it seems she was proactive in seeking a hospital diagnosis and was given the all clear – this despite experiencing heavy bleeding and extreme pain last year on more than one occassion and having pre-cancerous cells burned off in her late teens. Perhaps she may have lived to a ripe old age had her govt. through it’s health system, not failed her… or at least worked harder at her particular case. And perhaps that’s why Gordon Brown is sorry. It’s a tragedy, for sure. I can’t stand media wh*res, but in her case, she did the right thing when she sold her cancer story to the media for as much money as she could get. She just wanted to make sure he children got a proper education and standard of living – something she had been denied. And she WILL save other women with this publicity. Brave woman.
I believe she was informed by the hospital that suspicious cells had showed up in her smear test, but she ignored the letter for quite some time. Only when it was too late did she go in for treatment. That’s how the cancer became so serious. When you’re young, cancer cells spread far more quickly and aggressively. I find the misconception that cancer is an old person’s disease to be very dangerous in that it leaves people feeling falsely complacent about their tests and screenings. Please don’t neglect your health, and cut down on drinking and smoking if you can’t quit altogether, because those habits are the ones that make cancer all the more likely (causing your cells to mutate if they are already predisposed to do so).
Sadness – RIP.
Okay, thank you Bina for the clarification. A UK website I looked at says that the cancer takes an average of 10-12 years to develop after abnormal cells are present. Perhaps she thought she had more time. What was the hospital’s follow-up procedures? What official advice had she been given? What sense of urgency had been conveyed? IDK. It’s a shame.
RIP Jade. Condolences to the family and loved-ones.
rip jade
Jesus “Jack”, Did Jade Goody do something to you? you sure are “on” today, when all thats required is humility… But thats just me, I see the waste of a mother to her children and the fears she must have held for them, the desperation…the harsh reality… maybe Im too sensitive, but I scheduled a test, haven’t had one in 4 years, it just seems such a waste, whether you liked her or not, she is now the face of hundreds of women each year…and a reminder to hundreds more.
Raising awareness of the need for cervical cancer screenings, reminding people to wear a helmet while skiing, reinforcing the message that women are at risk from violent partners – the ability to deliver these messages is the positive side of our culture’s celebrity fixation.
Stories like Jade Goody’s have more of an impact than a thousand traditional “public service announcements.”
I never watch shows like Big Brother or Survivor but I’ll tell you what, this story just breaks my heart. She was so young and leaving behind 2 young children – there are no other words except heartbreaking. I think she has done an enormous good deed by documenting her struggle. Maybe people will start taking their health and well being more seriously. I know I have. Thank you, Jade!
I was so sad to wake up and find she died, but at least it was in her sleep. I feel so bad for her kids, but they can be proud of what she did- making screenings happen more often, she has probably saved lives. I live in the US and I’ve had a pap every year since I was 16. I’m very thankful for that privilege and I hope it becomes available everywhere. Rest in Peace, Jade <3
(and “Jack”-STFU! If you knew you were going to get shit for saying something so clearly f*cked up, then why say it?)
I may not always agree with how open she was with the media, but in her last bits of time at least she was doing it for her sons…
RIP
Wow, I had no idea that routine cancer screenings were like that in the UK. I’m in the US and I’m only 20, and I’ve had cervical cancer screenings since I started being sexually active every year.
Jag that’s a good point – the cervical cancer vaccine that I received protects me against the HPV strains that cause 70% of cervical cancer, so there’s still 30% unaccounted for. Still, it’s better than not getting it at all.
Let’s not forget that two little boys lost their Mom, a mother lost her daughter, a young man lost his wife. Regardless of what she’s done in the past, passing away when being only 27 years old is very, very sad!
My heart goes out to her loved ones!
Apparently she ignored TWO followup letters from the hospital. They can’t force you to comply with their recommendations, so I guess they just let it go after that. Lord knows they have enough patients who want treatment that they would give up on someone who rejects it.
So sad. She was so young. RIP!
Lord rest her soul. A sad end to a remarkable life, regardless of whether you liked her or not.
Just to divert onto the vaccination question for a moment. I admit that I am pro-vaccination, coupled with regular testing as a two-pronged approach. However I would be interested in reading the converse side – me, could you provide the references to where you got your information?
Out of curiosity, if it had never been published, how did you find out that somebody died as a direct result of the vaccine? (my condolences if it was someone close to you)
Requiem en terra pax.
No one deserves to suffer through cancer and at such a young age as well. No child deserves to lose their mommy either. Like her or hate her, she’s didn’t deserve to lose her life. I feel for her kids.
To all of you who seem to think you know about cancer and how Jade contracted the disease and how she could have prevented it – I have news for you – YOU ARE SO WRONG.
If you are going to have an opinion on something , please check your facts first.
Jade had regular smear tests ( as regular as prescribed by the medical health authority in the UK). Unfortunatley, jade has been one of those unlucky ones where her form of cancer was aggressive and there is nothing you can do about aggressive forms of cancer. I am a researcher involved in cancer research and unfortunatley there are people who have cancer and are just unlucky to get the aggressive form before it has been detected. From most of your opinions you seem to think that Jade could have prvented this – No she could not.
Jade was a very brave person fighting a horrible, nasty disease which was not curable. Get off your sopaboxes people and fhave some bloody compassion for a woman who was battling against an incurable disease
I got the HPV vaccination just before the age of twenty six. Truly, I doubts about this for quite a while. I just read a great deal about this and was terrified on discovering there’s unwanted effects. We could just pray to The almighty to guard people since medical science could save life however it could also cripple us in some instances.