It was Mothers’ Day on Sunday in the UK.  It was also my little boys’ birthday and we had a barbeque to celebrate with Godparents and family.  It was also the day that Jade Goody finally lost her battle with cancer.

Jade was born a “nobody”, a “regular Jane”, from South London.  She gained huge celebrity status through reality TV in just seven years.  Her death was reported globally. 

Jade was uneducated and came from a disadvantaged background.  She wanted better for her sons and in her latter life sold every minute of her story, her illness, cancer, to celebrity magazines to earn as much money as she could before she died for her two young sons.

I really liked Jade.  I admired her honesty, her work ethic and her dogged determination.  She knew how to overcome adversity.  She never revelled in her ignorance but always sought to improve herself.  She built a business, which went under.  She built a celebrity career, which floundered.  She made mistakes and apologised.  Her celebrity was reborn. 

She never stopped to wallow in self pity when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.  She used it to highlight the disease.  She reached young women, who otherwise would never have gone for a smear test.  In the UK, the uptake of smear tests increased 100% according to some cancer charities since Jade announced she had terminal cancer.  That’s an amazing legacy. 

She died on Mothers’ Day, on my boys’ birthday.  Her boys are similar ages to my two boys.  My heart goes out to them.

You never know when it will be your time.  Use it wisely.

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