My wife's incurable cancer started with a ‘Mounjaro side effect' – now she's got months left to live
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A MUM thought symptoms of her incurable cancer were a side effect of Mounjaro weight loss jabs - now she's been given months to live.
Dawn Clegg, 51, began suffering from chest pain in late March this year after taking the jabs to help deal with her diabetes.
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Dawn Clegg picture with her husband Arron
Credit: SWNS
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The mum started getting chest pains earlier this year, which she initially put down to taking Mounjaro
Credit: SWNS
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Dawn later went to A&E, where scans revealed growths on her lungs, kidneys, and breast
Credit: SWNS
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Dawn was diagnosed with rare sarcoma cancer - but doctors still can't identify the exact type
Credit: SWNS
The mum eventually went to A&E for her chest pains.
She had several X-rays at the hospital, which showed shadows on her lungs, kidneys, and breast.
Dawn was later diagnosed with a rare soft-tissue cancer known as sarcoma.
She was told the growths on her breast and kidney were benign, but the one on her lungs was sarcoma, which makes up just one per cent of all known cancers.
There are more than 100 known sarcomas and Dawn's doctors have been unable to precisely identify the type she has - making treatment challenging.
Dawn was given less than a year to live.
Now her heartbroken husband Arron Clegg, 51, is planning to hold a "living wake" in November to celebrate the life of his wife.
Arron said: "She went to Lancaster Hospital A&E at the end of March with chest pains which she thought were a side effect of Mounjaro which she was taking to help with her diabetes.
"X rays showed shadows on lung, kidney and breast.
"We were devastated on hearing news of cancer in these areas - there is no cure and she is now terminal.
I thought my sore knee was a drunken injury but it was cancer at 27
"The wake will mean she can spend quality time with friends and family whilst still alive rather than after the funeral that way she can see how much people care about her."
Dawn, a receptionist with Bay Medical Group who's mum to 19-year-old George, started taking Mounjaro to help with her diabetes.
When she noticed tightness in her chest, she initially thought it was a side effect from the jabs.
Chest pain isn't a known side effect of Mounjaro, which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
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Dawn has been given months to live
Credit: SWNS
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She's now receiving chemotherapy
Credit: SWNS
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Arron is planning a 'living wake' for Dawn
Credit: SWNS
In late March, Dawn went to Lancaster Hospital A&E in the hopes of finding out what was causing her chest pain.
She had multiple X-rays, which found shadows in her lungs, breasts, and kidney.
The next day Dawn was "called back" to hospital where they were informed the growths could be cancerous.
Tests which showed the cancer on her breast was benign and her kidney "wasn't a big issue", but she was given the "devastating" news that the cancer on her lungs was sarcoma.
The symptoms of sarcoma cancer
The most common symptom of soft tissue sarcoma is a lump somewhere on the body.
But this doesn't necessarily mean cancer - there are all sorts of reasons for lumps and swellings, but it must always be checked by a GP.
The lump is usually found deep under the skin and might be felt before it can be seen.
The lump is usually solid to the touch, painless and hard to move around under the skin.
It will continue to grow and as it does, it can become painful.
Other symptoms depend on where in the body the lump is.
These can include: Tummy pain and constipation if there is a sarcoma near the tummy
A cough that does not go away if there is a sarcoma near the lungs
Source: NHS
Sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that develops in the supporting tissues of the body, including bone, cartilage, tendons, fat, and muscle.
Arron said: "The doctors don't even know what type of sarcoma it is four months later.
"Sarcoma makes up 1 per cent of known cancers and on top of that there are over 100 sarcomas, so finding the right treatment is extremely hard.
"She is now terminal and there is a high chance she won't make her fifty-second birthday next year."
Dawn began receiving chemotherapy at Clatterbridge in Liverpool but Arron has said "there is more chance of it not working than slowing it down".
Following Dawn's diagnosis Arron is now hoping to organise a "living wake" – a joyful celebration of her life surrounded by friends and family while she is still with them.
Arron hopes to invited around 100 of his wife's closest family and friends to enjoy a final evening together.
Arron said: "Dawn means the world to me.
"We went to school together and started dating after we found each other years later and have been married nearly 10 years.
'Dawn is an amazing person; not very patient and yet with this illness she has surprised us both with her patience whilst they tried to find a treatment.
"She is the best person I ever knew and the wake will mean the world to her."
Arron has started a crowdfunding to help pay for the costs of the wake, which will take place on November 29, and Dawn's funeral.
When the time comes, Dawn will be laid to rest near her late daughter Isobel, who died in childbirth.
You can visit Arron's GoFundMe here.
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Dawn has been 'patient' while doctors searched for treatments
Credit: SWNS
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'She is the best person I ever knew,' Arron said
Credit: SWNS
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