‘Jess’s Rule is changing lives – Jessie was determined to make a difference’
A month after Jess Brady, a 27-year-old engineer, died of cancer in December 2020, her mum, Andrea, set up a petition. Jess’s Rule called for the government to ensure that GPs must escalate patients’ cases if, after three consultations, their condition remains unresolved, or their symptoms are escalating – regardless of their age.
“I was just so determined,” says Andrea, a 59-year-old teacher. “I wouldn’t give up for Jessie. She was the thing that drove me on. We all grieve in really different ways. But for me to have Jessie in my mind and be productive, that was the best way to cope with my huge grief.”
Last year, almost five years on from Jess’s death, Jess’s Rule became a reality. It is now being rolled out to GP surgeries in England, with posters featuring Jess’s name and image.
“Having Jess’s name attached to the rule is hopefully a reminder to not let it get too late,” says Andrea. “Hopefully, the message is that devastatingly Jess’s wasn’t – and isn’t – an isolated case.”
Jess first experienced cancer symptoms in the summer of 2020 and contacted her local GP around 20 times. But her symptoms – abdominal pain that progressed to vomiting, a persistent cough and weight loss – were repeatedly dismissed, both due to her age, and for being mistaken as long Covid.
Over the next few months, Jess kept getting worse. When Andrea eventually paid for a private consultation, Jess was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She died just three weeks later.
“Jess had such a short time,” says Andrea, who is now chair of the Jess Brady Cedar Trust. “She definitely wanted to raise awareness. She wanted her doctor’s surgery to realise the impact, and how hard it had been advocating for herself. Obviously, the most important thing is to develop awareness about the early onset cancers with young people.
New research shows cancer is surging among women under 50, with a 16 per cent rise since 2000, without any such rise for men. It’s why Jess’s Rule feels so important now.
“We need doctors to treat every patient that comes in that might have red flag symptoms, to have in the back of their minds, however rare it might be, that it might be a cancer diagnosis, and to push away statistical likelihoods,” explains Andrea. “That’s been a massive problem – ‘it’s really unlikely you have cancer, so we’ll assume it’s not cancer.’”
She has been heartened by GP surgeries already requesting more posters to advertise Jess’s Rule, and she believes Jess would feel “the huge love and energy of trying to make a difference in her name and to be a legacy for her, but also to be something positive for other people”.
“Jess was a really positive person. We could have been negative in the face of what happened. But more than anything, we hope that Jess’s Rule does just remind primary care clinicians to have that rule of three, because we know if you catch a cancer earlier, the chance of survival is much, much, much improved.”
‘My mum and grandma helped 100 women – including Davina McCall – spot the signs of breast cancer’
Amy Leslie, 21, was just six years old when her mum Danielle died aged 40 – a year after her grandma Sylvie died aged 61. “Their dying wishes were to prevent other mums, grandmothers and daughters from going through the pain they suffered,” explains Amy.
“They couldn’t bear the thought of other families being torn apart as ours was so brutally, so they set up Future Dreams – a charity that funds support, spreads awareness of the early signs of breast cancer and researches improved treatment and diagnosis.”
In 2019, Future Dreams joined forces with ITV’s Lorraine show to create the award-winning Change and Check campaign, with stickers showing nine breast cancer symptoms. It was the brainchild of Lorraine’s TV producer, Helen Addis, who had been diagnosed with the disease herself and felt passionately that not enough people knew what they should be looking for.
Thousands of stickers were printed in partnership with Future Dreams, and have helped more than 100 women get early diagnosis and treatment for the disease, including Davina McCall, who shared that she found a small lump in her breast due to the Change and Check campaign back in November. It turned out to be breast cancer, but as it was found early, it could be removed by having a lumpectomy, rather than a full mastectomy. She is going to have five days of radiotherapy in January, "as kind of an insurance policy", and then says she will be on a "journey to try and stop it ever coming back".
“I felt a surge of pain for her when I heard about her story, followed by a sense of pride when I saw that she had found her symptoms as a result of the campaign,” says Amy. “I am devastated that yet another woman has had to face this life-changing diagnosis. But it shows the difference that some simple stickers have made. My mum and grandma would have been humbled to know that the charity they formed around a kitchen table with just £100 had been part of this initiative.”
Future Dreams was founded over 20 years ago and has since donated millions to research and opened Future Dreams House, the only dedicated breast cancer support centre in England and Wales, offering practical, emotional and psychological help in person and online.
“Never a day goes by when we don’t talk about mum and grandma,” says Amy. “I volunteer at the charity because I know how important its work is. I’m 21 now, but conversations about breast cancer have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
“Breast cancer scares me. In fact, if I’m being honest, it’s my biggest fear. I’ve already had consultations with doctors about my risk of getting it too, and I will have my first mammogram in just four years’ time [25 years before most people]. I will then have extra check-ups for the rest of my life.”
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Many young women, like Amy, have inherited genes that make them more likely to develop the disease, and she is passionate that everyone checks themselves for cancer. “Many young women don’t think they need to check for early signs, as there is a misapprehension that breast cancer is a disease only older women get. Every 10 minutes in the UK, a woman is told she has the disease, and a man is diagnosed every day.
“Sadly, there will be other Sylvies, Danielles and Amys facing the toughest of all outcomes, but it makes me so happy for Davina and her family, and others who can get early treatment, that their futures look very different.”
‘Nina fearlessly advocated for young women, especially black women who are so often overlooked’
Nina Lopes died of breast cancer aged 42 in November 2024, after living on and off with breast cancer for six years. During that time, she documented her experience online, educating thousands of her followers about the symptoms and realities of cancer.
“She launched her Instagram account Frodayss – initially to document the journey of growing her hair back after some pretty brutal chemo,” explains her sister-in-law, Victoria Harper.
“It quickly became the most amazing hub of support for her tens of thousands of followers – those inspired by her love for life, but also for those who had cancer and were looking for information about all the medical trials and tribulations she was going through, too.”
Nina was only 37 when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a single mother who “never gave up hope and lived with purpose that she could change things for others,” says Victoria. “She fearlessly advocated for young women, and those of black heritage who are so often overlooked and underserved by the medical establishment in terms of diagnosis, medication and care.”
Nina helped raise awareness about breast checks and symptoms after doctors initially dismissed her own concerns, and went on to become an ambassador for Cancer Awareness Trust, publicly campaigning to lower the current UK breast screening age of 50 – a discussion that is still ongoing.
“After doctors dismissed her symptoms, she encouraged women to pay attention to their bodies, get checked when something feels wrong, and advocate for their own healthcare,” says Victoria. She also took part in public campaigns – including involvement in events and storytelling initiatives that highlighted life with secondary breast cancer, such as Breast Cancer Now’s “Gallery of Hope” exhibition, which shone a light on the need for research and greater support.
When she went on to develop advanced, metastatic disease, she didn’t stop, and even went on to fulfil her dream of launching her own podcast, What Next, which was supported by Cancer Platform and Spotify.
“I remember sometimes she’d be so tired after chemo, all her beautiful long hair shaved off, shaking from the steroids, and she’d still turn up and do the show,” Victoria says, adding: “Her highlight was meeting Kathy Burke, who she interviewed about what it was like growing up without a mum. Like many young women with cancer, Nina was thinking about her own teenage daughter growing up without her and wanted advice from Kathy. It was heartbreaking, but like everything Nina did, it was done with such a lightness of touch – and humour, too. I can still hear Nina’s laugh. When she laughed, she roared.”
“But hope was what kept her going – right to the end”, Victoria says: “She never gave up, and her legacy lives on in every life she saved because of everything she shared about what she was going through.”
As told to Radhika Sanghani
