Written by Maddison Leech 9Honey
Johnny and Jasmine were married for more than a decade, with three beautiful kids. They were living the Australian dream and planned to grow old together.
Instead, Johnny had to bury his wife before her 40th birthday after she was struck down by a disease that claims 75 Australian lives every week. Jasmine was just 37 when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after months of minor symptoms.
It had started with back and leg pain but Jasmine, who was a GP, assumed it was a musculoskeletal issue.
"She started putting backrests in the car and things like that, she was going to physio and pilates, trying to figure out what it was," Johnny told 9honey.
"She was a lot more proactive with her health, whereas I would have a sore neck and just not do anything about it, she would actually find out what the issue was."
Despite Jasmine's efforts, the back and leg pain continued until January 2022, when a new symptom emerged during a family holiday. When the mum of three suddenly started experiencing stomach pain, she thought she might have been suffering from gallstones all along. But an ultrasound when she got home revealed something more sinister.
Jasmine had pancreatic cancer and her body was riddled with more than 30 tumours, which had spread to her liver and lymph nodes. Only 30 per cent of Australians diagnosed with the disease survive one year after diagnosis, and only 13 per cent survive five years.
"It was basically a death sentence," Johnny said, but he didn't understand that right away.
When Jasmine first told him about the cancer, he assumed it was "really, really bad" but that it could be treated and wouldn't be fatal. It wasn't until additional tests revealed just how advanced Jasmine's case was that Johnny understood the truth.
"She was just basically declaring the end of her life."
He was going to lose his wife and their children were going to lose their mother.
Johnny still struggles to talk about the day he and Jasmine sat the kids down and told them she was sick.
"We came up with a plan, we took the kids out of the house, and we sat them down and had a good chat with them," he said softly.
Telling their children Jasmine was going to die was devastating; watching it happen was even worse. Jasmine started chemotherapy soon after her diagnosis and was even provided a grant for medication that would extend her life.
It gave her a extra time to make memories with Johnny and their kids.Together they travelled to Croatia, where Johnny's originally from, and Disneyland Paris, where the children got to experience the happiest place on Earth with their mum.
"It was good to get away from it all, to be together," Johnny said.
Between sightseeing and snapping family photos, he and Jasmine made plans for their children's future – a future she would never get to see. A few months after returning home, Jasmine's health took a sudden turn.
"She got struck down in the end with a stroke, so the ending was very sudden for us," Johnny said.
Jasmine was just 39 when she died, less than two years after her diagnosis. It's been more than a year since she passed and Johnny still feels the ache of her absence every single day, as do their children, now aged eight, 10 and 11.
The hole Jasmine left in their lives and their hearts will never be filled or truly heal. Johnny has done some counselling and ensured their children have the support they need to cope with losing the most important woman in their world, but he knows the whole family will live with the grief of Jasmine's passing for the rest of their lives. All he can do now is make sure her death was not in vain.
"That's what I'm here for, just to make sure the awareness is out there."
Early-stage pancreatic cancer rarely causes symptoms, making it hard to detect before it's too late.
Australians need to be aware of the disease so they can watch for any signs, even if they're well below the average diagnosis age of 72. As Jasmine's story proves, cancer can strike anyone at any age.
This September, Aussies are encouraged to take part in Pankind's Remember September challenge to Move It or Give It Up for pancreatic cancer research. Participants can walk 75km or give up something meaningful in honour of the lives lost to this cruel disease and in hopes of creating a future where it doesn't claim 75 lives every week.
Learn more and get involved here.