'I'm fighting for time': Paramedic diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer after visiting GP 21 times with symptoms
A fundraiser has been launched to support a paramedic with stage 4 cancer
A paramedic visited her GP 21 times with worsening symptoms before an investigative surgery revealed she had cervical cancer.
Jules Trigg, from Emsworth, is preparing to start chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy at St Richard’s Hospital, in Chichester, after being told she has stage 4 metastatic cancer - months after almost reaching remission.
The 41-year-old was initially diagnosed with cervical cancer on June 16, 2025 following a delayed diagnosis, after visiting her local GP 21 times with symptoms including nausea, sickness, bleeding and pelvic pain.
Jules said: “I’d been unwell for about 18 months and I was back and forth with the GP. I went 21 times but they kept saying it was urine infections or kidney infections but then I saw someone at the hospital who suggested I have a laparoscopy to have a look at whether it was endometriosis. At that point, I told them things had got quite a bit worse so they decided they would do some investigations while I was under.
“I woke up in recovery and was told I had cancer - We were devastated. Things then moved very quickly as they said it had spread to my abdomen and was 3C2.”
Following the shocking discovery, the paramedic of eight years underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and brachytherapy at QA Hospital, where she also contracted neutropenic sepsis and was hospitalised for a week.
After months of intensive treatment, Jules was told the cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes, had started responding and, by January of this year, she was almost in remission.
At her latest three-monthly scan in April, the mum-of-one’s oncologist informed her the cancer had not only returned, but it had metastasised to her lungs and the lining of her abdomen.
She continued: “At my last appointment, the oncologist said it isn’t a curable situation now, but he said ‘we’re not going to throw the book at it. We’re going to throw the whole damn library at it’.
“I am no longer fighting for a cure. I am fighting for time.
“This time round, it’s a whole different ball game, things are looking quite unpredictable - When I was told that my cancer had returned and spread to my lungs and abdominal lining, my world changed overnight.
“I was up to date with all of my cervical screenings and they had all come back clear - I’d like to raise awareness of the symptoms that can sometimes be overlooked or explained away.”
A close friend of Jules’ decided to set up a GoFundMe page on May 2 to help alleviate financial pressure on her while she undergoes more rounds of treatment. The fundraiser has already raised over £3,000, with Jules saying “the money will make things easier for us, and if I’m well enough, we can go and make memories.”
She added: “Knowing that we have a degree of financial security while I focus on treatment is an enormous relief.”
On Thursday, June 4, the healthcare profession will start the first of three cycles of treatment, before having a CT scan to see if the cancer is responding.
Providing Jules responds positively to treatment, she will continue multiple cycles of treatment which can last up to two years.
She continued: “We all want to know what the prognosis is going to be, my doctor didn’t want to say anything past two years but I don’t think anybody really knows.
“I’m not looking forward to treatment but I’m not going to give up without a fight.”