Jenny Palmer was 42 when breast cancer changed her life forever.
In Cardiff, Wales, she had to undergo a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The scars were so deep that she could not even bear to look at herself in the mirror. But one day she decided that she would hide no longer: she had a phoenix rising from its ashes tattooed on her chest and set herself a different mission—to encourage other women to get screened in time.
Yesterday she ran the Cardiff 10 km topless, with wings painted on her back that tell her whole story. She took off her shirt at the starting line in front of thousands of runners and received nothing but applause. Along the route, strangers approached her to tell her about their own battles with the disease. “If this helps just one person get screened, that is all I want”, Jenny said, seven years after not knowing whether she would have a future.
