A young mum has been given just months to live after she was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer. She got the devastating diagnosis just two months after her first child was born.
Nikita Jones was just 21 years old when she got the news. She had welcomed baby Vienna only weeks earlier. She was told that she was one of only two people in the UK with an extremely rare form of sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.
She discovered a lump between her breasts in the summer of 2023, which was initially treated as an abscess. But when antibiotics failed to clear it, she was referred to the breast clinic in August 2023, where she was given her diagnosis.
What followed has been a year of torment for Nikita, now 22, according to her mum, Vicki Hughes. Vicki told Wales Online that Nikita, from Port Talbot in Wales, had to undergo intense surgery in October 2023, with doctors creating titanium ribs for her as they planned to remove part of her rib cage.
This involved a double mastectomy and the removal of part of her chest plate, before Nikita travelled to London for six weeks of proton beam therapy treatment which left burns on Nikita, her mother said.
In March of this year, Nikita was told she was free of cancer. However, in the months that followed, the mum-of-one began to experience pain and swelling in her legs, along with a persistent cough and recurring chest infections.
A shadow was discovered on her lung, which doctors believed was likely inflammation from the treatment – but then Nikita underwent a CT scan. Vicki said: “She didn’t want that scan. She was nervous then, I think she knew.”
Sure enough, the CT scan resulted in some devastating news, showing that the cancer had returned to Nikita’s lungs – and tragically, doctors informed her there was nothing more they could do.
Nikita was given the stark prognosis: without treatment, six months to live, and with chemotherapy, approximately 16 months. The family is reeling from the news, and are now focused on helping Nikita create lasting memories with her young daughter Vienna.
In an incredible show of support, a friend of Nikita’s has launched a GoFundMe campaign, which astonishingly has raised over £4,500 in just three days. Donations can be made here to assist the family.
Prior to receiving this devastating update, Nikita had just moved into her first home with her daughter and partner Shaun Williams, looking forward to a new beginning. Overwhelmed by the situation, Vicki said: “There is just no words, I am lost for words,” when asked about the family’s emotions during this challenging time.
Vicki shared that the support for Nikita has been immense, with a “whole village” rallying around her. She has received remarkable encouragement from her grandmother Catherine, sisters Jordanna and Tanisha, and a wide circle of family and friends.