When Jenna Ellen began her first round of IVF, she was filled with excitement at the thought of finally starting a family with the love of her life.
But, instead of the journey of her dreams, the then 31-year-old Auckland hairdresser was told she had stage 3 cancer.
Jenna, now 32, told the Daily Mail: “I was looking forward to conceiving and hopefully being a mum. This was not on my 2025 bingo card.”
She and partner Josh, her teenage sweetheart of 16 years, took their first steps to starting a family in mid-July.
While she expected IVF to leave her feeling a bit off, she had also been noticing symptoms she put down to everyday life – a persistent dry cough, a croaky voice, shortness of breath and a tight chest.
“Because I’m a hairdresser, I’m constantly talking over a dryer or working in a busy salon. I just thought it was normal,” she said.
But even climbing stairs or taking the rubbish out left her puffed. “By that stage, my voice had also started to go, and I started feeling just quite heavy,”
It was only after a fertility nurse urged her to get checked that doctors discovered an 11cm mass in her chest – later diagnosed as stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma.
“My life just flashed before my eyes. It was like something out of a movie,” Jenna recounted to the Daily Mail.
It was a bittersweet moment. That morning, Jenna had learned her IVF cycle had produced eight healthy embryos.
Since the diagnosis, Jenna has begun an intensive treatment plan of chemotherapy combined with a new immunotherapy option, one she believes makes her the first person in New Zealand to try it for Hodgkin lymphoma.
She’s lost her hair since starting treatment but takes it in her stride as “the least of my worries”.
To support her recovery, Jenna embraced several lifestyle changes: A Mediterranean diet, cutting back on sugar, keeping active and drinking plenty of water.
“Being so young… I’m confident I can get through this.”
Jenna credited the support around her, led by her partner Josh, for keeping her positive. Living on the Hibiscus Coast, Jenna also finds peace in the sunshine and the nearby beach.
Children are now on hold but she was grateful the diagnosis came before pregnancy.
“For the time being, our one goal is for me to get well,” Jenna said.
“The world keeps spinning. You’ve just got to carry on.”
