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Canterbury woman who battled cancer speaks out about body image battles during treatment

A young woman who was told she had “a bit of a steroid face” by a heartless doctor during cancer treatment has spoken out candidly about her body image battles.

When Becca Jones from Canterbury, was on a family holiday in Paris she began to feel a bit poorly and run down.

Becca Jones now
Becca Jones now

Aged just 16, she had no idea that her life was about to be turned upside down.

“My mum insisted I go and see my GP, who asked if I wanted a blood test,” says Becca.

“As I didn’t think it was anything serious, I delayed it a bit because I was looking after children at our Church’s holiday club.”

But four hours after her blood test doctors called her mum, telling her to take Becca to the local hospital.

Becca Jones while undergoing treatment
Becca Jones while undergoing treatment

A bone marrow test confirmed the teenager had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, an aggressive disease which requires years of treatment.

As well as fighting cancer, it was also the beginning of a long battle over her body image.

The very first thing Becca asked was: “What about my hair?”

“Cancer and hair loss was such a big association for me, and I worried about how I’d look to other people,” she says. “But the most difficult thing for me was the weight gain.”

“The steroid treatment I was on made me put a lot of weight, but I didn’t realise until a doctor made an offhand comment to me: ‘You’ve got a bit of steroid face.’

Becca Jones during treatment
Becca Jones during treatment

“As someone who’s always been self-conscious about my appearance, the weight gain was really difficult at the time.

"I didn’t want people to see me like that and I hated looking in the mirror.”

Becca was treated on the Teenage Cancer Trust’s unit in Southampton.

Here she was able to meet with others her age going through the same thing and talk about “how your hair really represents who you are.”

After her treatment Becca very quickly lost two-and-a-half stone, going down to a lower weight than before her diagnosis.

“As I haven’t always had the most positive body image, I had to remind myself that the weight loss wasn’t a healthy situation,” she says.

Becca Jones while she was undergoing treatment
Becca Jones while she was undergoing treatment

“Before my diagnosis I was really active and going to the gym all the time, but during my weight loss I was feeling really weak and helpless, as I felt like there was nothing I could do about the changes.”

Once her intensive chemotherapy finished, Becca need another two years of “maintenance treatment”, taking tablets daily.

She said: “I was able to go back to college during this time but that was tough in some ways. Losing my hair really affected my confidence as it makes up a big part of how you look.

“I didn’t realise how badly it would affect me. I didn’t mind having no hair or wispy hair as much when I was at the unit, but I wore a wig to college.

“I took it off at one point and someone said: ‘Why don’t you keep it on for a bit longer.’ I think they meant if I was unsure about taking it off, but it had taken courage to take it off and it knocked my confidence.”

Becca Jones now (18494607)
Becca Jones now (18494607)

Fortunately, Becca could rely on her friends and family to help – going along to Zumba with her mum.

And one day when she took off her wig, a pal said: “I really love your hair.”

“It gave me such a boost and I remember it even now,” she says. “My hair grew back really differently and curly, and my friends all told me how much they loved my curls.”

Becca suffered a setback at university in Cardiff, realising “the experience of having cancer had deeply affected me”.

During freshers’ week, someone made a jibe about a scar left from her Hickman line – the catheter used to administer chemotherapy.

Becca Jones now
Becca Jones now

“When everyone was a bit merry, someone pointed out my scar and kept saying it was a hickey.

“We were out having a good time and I didn’t want to have to tell them about my cancer.

“After that I felt quite self-conscious about my scar if I was wearing certain clothes, and I worried about what people would think it was.”

Becca was put in touch with a youth support coordinator from the Teenage Cancer Trust. She invited her along to social events like “find your sense of tumour”, where she could meet other young cancer survivors.

Now 21, Becca has decided to share her story to show how important it is to talk about body image issues “before negative thoughts take over”.

Kate Collins, chief executive of the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “People like Becca are sharing their experiences of how they coped and this will do so much to help other people facing similar issues.

“We’re really proud and grateful she is part of our #StillMe campaign.”

To keep up-to-date with all the latest developments with your local hospitals and other health stories, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury

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