A STAPLE Hill woman who has been diagnosed with cancer says she is “going into battle” against the disease – and held a Terminator-themed photo shoot to show the world she is up for the fight.
Jo Newman was told she had Stage 3 breast cancer, which has spread to her lymph nodes, in April after finding a lump under her arm.
The civilian police worker, who runs speed awareness courses, has been told it is an aggressive, non-hormone receptive form of the disease.
She started a long and gruelling course of chemotherapy in July.
Days before starting treatment, Jo dressed in combat gear, borrowed some motorbikes and a toy gun to summon the fighting spirit of Sarah Connor, the heroine of the Terminator film franchise, for a photo session at her home with professional photographer Morag MacDonald.
She has also had a tattoo on the back of her head, which tells cancer where to go in no uncertain terms.
Jo said: “The way I look at it is, I’m going to war.
“When you think about a soldier that goes off to war, they are prepared physically and psychologically for a battle.
“I cut my hair because I didn’t want chemo to take my hair away.
“I have 21 rounds of chemo over seven months. I’m going to get hammered.”
Jo, who has lived in the Bristol area for 30 years, has a family history of the disease, which claimed her mother’s life at the age of 57.
Her niece has had cancer three times in the past ten years, from the age of 24.
Jo said: “She’s been a massive inspiration. If I ask her anything about having cancer she won’t give me any fluffiness, she’ll tell it to me straight.
“She told me if you have a bad day, cancer has taken that day from you but if you have a good day, cancer hasn’t got you.”
Jo, who is married to Steve and has two children, aged 31 and 28, had previously had a session of ‘boudoir’ photos with Morag.
Bristol-based Morag runs a project called 50 Over 50, which takes glamorous photos of women aged over 50 to raise money for charity Breast Cancer Now, raising more than £4,000 to date.
Jo said: “If I can make one person feel positive about their diagnosis, this will be worth it.”