JOANNE Philpott is determined to relish every second of life.
The mum-of-four was told she had beaten cervical cancer having developed the disease in 1998.
But a month ago she was dealt a shattering blow when doctors diagnosed terminal cancer in her brain.
The secondary cancer appears related to an entirely separate primary cancer in her lung.
The 49-year-old from Stocksmoor said: “The first question you ask is ‘how unlucky can you be?’
“When they gave me the news I thought they were talking to the bedpost, it was almost like a practical joke – we assumed if it returned it would be in my abdomen.
“With the first cancer they said it would be cut out and I would live.
“This time, the words she used were ‘This will end your life, Jo’.”
The family have been told to measure the time left in weeks and months rather than years. And for Joanne and her husband John, the focus remains on children Lauren, Sophie, Benjamin and Henry.
She said: “My life has been based on planning for them and with one son going through his A-Levels my natural response is to feel like I’m messing things up for him.
“I take things a day at a time and if I feel good we say right – let’s all go to lunch.
“It’s my birthday on July 15 and my daughter’s 21st is coming up so these are things to look forward to.”
John, 56, a former chairman of Holmfirth Round Table, ran the London Marathon in 2004 for Cancer Research. He said: “Every day on Facebook Joanne writes a blog and was inspired by John Diamond, the first husband of Nigella Lawson.
“Her friends are able to follow her updates and keep in touch.
“She lets people know about her visits to the doctor and how she’s enjoying life and we are absolutely determined to make the most of what we’ve got left.
“She has been inspirational. The next steps are probably palliative care and the hospice.”
The independent financial advisor added: “You could be very angry but it’s important not to waste this time.”
Joanne, a former practice nurse at the Church Lane Surgery in Brighouse, added: “I’m a communicative person and John bought me an iPad because my sight has been affected and I can’t use my phone.
“You sometimes think of Facebook as horrendous but at 3am in the morning I can read messages from friends in Hong Kong and New Zealand who I haven’t seen in years.
“I’ve got a massive circle of friends – they remind me of something we’ve done together and I smile and have a giggle.
“It’s a simple thing but it tells you that I have made a dot on this world and that I will be remembered.”
