After spending the past seven years sharing her battle with cancer with the world, The Wellness Warrior blogger Jess Ainscough sadly passed away last Thursday. Her legions of fans got the news via a simple message on Ainscough’s popular blog, reading: "On February 26th, 2015, the world lost one of its brightest sparks."
A former online editor for Dolly magazine, Ainscough was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 at the age of 22. A devout believer of natural healing, she decided to deal with her epithelioid sarcoma diagnosis using Gerson therapy, and share her journey in detail with readers.
Late last year, Ainscough informed followers that her cancer had taken a turn for the worse via an intimate blog post. “When I left you back in June to begin a period of self-care hibernation, my plan was to get my health back in tip top shape and then spend some time creating some awesome new stuff for you. The reality, however, is that I’ve spent the whole time focused on my health. For the last few months, I’ve been pretty much bedridden.”
“This year absolutely brought me to my knees. I’ve been challenged, frightened, and cracked open in ways I never had before. After my mum died at the end of last year, my heart was shattered and it’s still in a million pieces. I had no idea how to function without her, and it turns out my body didn’t either. For the first time in my almost seven year journey with cancer, this year I’ve been really unwell. I’ve lived with cancer since 2008 and for most of those years my condition was totally stable. When my mum became really ill, my cancer started to become aggressive again. After she died, things really started flaring up.”
“I’ve had scans to detect what’s going on in my body, and I can report that the disease is still contained to my left arm and shoulder, however, I do have a big fungating tumour mass in that shoulder that’s causing me dramas. Over 10 months of non-stop bleeding from the armpit has rendered me really weak (and uncomfortable) and as a result I’ve had no choice but to stop absolutely everything and rest.”
May you rest in peace, Jess.