Jemma Mcgowan, 27, of Omagh, Northern Ireland, died after a protracted fight with cancer. Continue reading to learn more about Jemma Mcgowan, her battle with the illness, and how she dealt with online bullying while going through all of this.
How did Jemma Mcgowan die?
On August 3, 2023, Jemma Mcgowan, 27, of Omagh, Northern Ireland, passed away.
Jemma McGowan was a mother of three kids. She stayed in Omagh until she passed away. She held positions as Owner/Manager/CEO at CJM CARS and Brand Ambassador for Tropic Skincare.
On Facebook, the Stewartstown Harps GFC Sports team expressed their condolences to the Mcgowan family.
The team wrote,
“The Committee, Players and entire Membership of Stewartstown Harps send our sincere condolences to the Megaw family Stewartstown on the passing of their daughter Jemma McGowan (Omagh)
Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband Clive and her 3 young children Sadie, Louis and Betty also her perents, sisters, brother and entire family circle.
Mary Queen of the Gael pray for her.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.”
Many people have had the good fortune to encounter a variety of inspirational individuals during their lives, but Jemma McGowan is the reigning monarch in this regard. Her departure this morning devastated many people’s hearts since she encouraged everyone to savour every moment and make as many memories as possible. We pray that she continues to shine brightly over everyone.
Jemma Mcgowan’s Cancer battle and Online Abuse:
Jemma McGowan was given just one year to live on May 10, 2021, after learning she had aggressive stage 4 ovarian cancer on February 9, the same year.
Her third child, Betty, had just been born when she received the terrifying prognosis. Since then, she has documented her fight with cancer on Instagram, exposing her to a deluge of insulting comments from users who think she is “faking” her condition.
When Jemma was 22 years old and expecting her second child with her husband Clive, 40, whom she married in 2018, she received her initial diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2016.
When she was 17 weeks pregnant, the stage one malignancy was surgically removed.
According to Jemma’s GoFundMe page, which she created to raise money for treatments, the cancer was described as being extremely rare, low grade, and not expected to spread or become aggressive.
She underwent surgery to remove her left ovary, fallopian tube, and basaloid carcinoma brenners tumor.
She said: “We never looked behind us. Sadie was born in December 2016 and I was very healthy and happy with no symptoms of cancer and all clear with bloods results and scans since. I went on to get married to my amazing husband Clive, and we had another little baby (Louis).”
Even though Jemma’s lower back and pelvis hurt throughout her second pregnancy, she was told she had “nothing to worry about.” Louis was born to her in November 2020.
Jemma, however, discovered a lump on February 9, 2021, 35 weeks into her third pregnancy.
She continued: “I visited my midwife who red flagged me to my consultant who rushed me for a MRI. It was agreed that I should get booked in early and for a planned procedure instead of waiting for a natural birth due to the placement of the lump. Betty was then delivered by C-Section and the growth removed for Biopsy on the 25th January 2021.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Jemma, her cancer is “acting very unusually and aggressively” in ways that have not been described in the medical literature. She has stated that her medical care is a “trial and error” procedure, which she says she is “really struggling to accept.”
Two different kinds of “very intense” chemotherapy treatments totalling three rounds have been given to her in Belfast. However, a group of oncologists discovered three additional tumours developing in Jemma’s body in May 2021.
They said that her treatment couldn’t be continued because the chemo wasn’t working.
Jemma was given just 3 to 15 months to live and was told to “get her affairs” in order. Nearly a year after receiving her prognosis, Jemma posted that she “can’t help but think about what I have got to lose.”
In an Instagram post, Jemma stated:
“I’m in so much pain. I am weak. I am exhausted. Everything is so hard. Pushing myself to be enough is painful physically and emotionally. I try so hard to be normal mummy, wife, friend etc
“I’m very rarely in this mindset but as I lay here tonight with uncontrollable tears rolling down my face I can’t help but think about what I have got to loose.How if or when the worst happens … how will my babies take it?
“I’m laying here thinking is it best to die sooner so they won’t remember me at all… or is it better to die later so they have some memories of mummy in their lives. Either way the trauma and emotional battle they will have to face someday is unbearable.
“I don’t want to be the reason for their heart ache. I want 20 years. I don’t ask to be a granny I just beg to be their mummy.”
I want 20 years. I don’t ask to be a granny I just beg to be their mummy.”
View this post on Instagram
Cancer Alternative Care:
Jemma looked into complementary and holistic cancer treatments while she battled for her life. One of the things she found was a clinic in Mexico that provides alternative treatments.
In June 2020, she and her husband Clive took a plane to Mexico, where she started taking a regimen of natural vitamins.
Jemma stated she spent about £2,500 a month on her medication, which she said she received from Mexico every six months and from London every eight weeks.
The 27-year-old also committed to a rigorous diet, forgoing meat, dairy products from cows, sweets, and white carbohydrates.
Jemma was thinking ahead and making plans for a very long time because she was determined not to let the gloomy prognoses of her sickness get the better of her.
In a new documentary with Stacey Dooley called Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, Jemma sobs as she admits that she’s making memory boxes for her three kids.
For them to open on significant occasions like their 18th birthdays, driving tests, and wedding days, she has also purchased gifts for the future.
She said: “I want them to remember me and know that I was thinking about them. Clive doesn’t really want to talk about it, but he’s not much of a talker! Every time I approach the subject with him, he changes the subject. But I’ve told him to promise that my kids will never call another woman mummy. None of us knows what tomorrow brings. I feel like I have been given something special as I know there’s a big possibility that my days are numbered. Someone once said to me that you could go out tomorrow and get killed in a car accident. I have something special, I know our fate so I can cherish what I have left and have time to prepare.”
Jemma was a tough fighter. Sadly, despite all the efforts, Jemma lost her battle with cancer after a protracted illness.
Online Abuse:
The terminally ill mother-of-three has told her story of brutal online harassment she received from strangers in 2022 who claimed she was “too good” to be in pain.
She claimed that the abuse didn’t affect her. Jemma put more effort into figuring out how to live longer with her family of five. Sadie, age 5, and Louis, age 2, are Jemma’s other two children.
She spoke to The Mirror about being harassed online and said:
“I get sent at least one nasty comment per week on social media.
“I regularly get told that I’m faking having cancer. And there’s someone else who keeps telling me that I don’t have terminal cancer as I look too good to be ill.
“I don’t really get upset or let it get to me as what they’re saying isn’t true. Strangers don’t know what they’re talking about. I feel like writing back ‘what more proof do you want? Do you want my blood? If I could give it to you I would!’”
Tributes to Jemma Mcgowan:
The news of Jemma Mcgowan’s passing has understandably devastated her family and friends, and condolences have poured in from all over the neighborhood. Many people have expressed their sympathies and offered support to Jemma Mcgowan’s loved ones on social media during this difficult period.
Eilish Harvey wrote: “This woman I have been blessed in my life to meet soo many inspirational people but Jemma McGowan you are the Queen 
of this title. So many broken hearts this morning. You taught us all to live a little more each day. And cram as many memories in. 
Keep shining over us all you absolute Lady #slippergate 
”
Janine Neill wrote: “Sending prayers and strength to Tracy Megaw Jemma McGowan husband Clive children and family circle God bless u all 
xx”
We send our sympathies to Jemma Mcgowan’s family and friends during this difficult time.
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