Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer: Tauranga mother beats disease twice

See Bay of Plenty Times, June

Photo / David Hall

Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer: Tauranga mother beats disease twice

Tauranga mother-of-two Jess Synge knows what it is like to face and beat cancer – twice.

The 40-year-old was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when she was 15 after finding a lump in her neck.

She said she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, which was a result of the radiotherapy she had as a teenager.

Synge said the “weight” of a cancer diagnosis was “so much more significant” the second time.

“I’ve got kids … a career and a mortgage,” she told the Bay of Plenty Times.

After successful treatment, Synge returned to work full time.

Synge is backing Dry July – an annual challenge where participants give up alcohol for a month while raising funds for non-medical services for Kiwi cancer patients, including physiotherapy rehabilitation service Pinc and Steel, which Synge used.

Dry July raised more than $900,000 last year for cancer patients. Registrations are open for this year’s initiative.

Synge said she had not heard of Hodgkin lymphoma when she was diagnosed. The cancer was mainly in her chest, but it had spread to a lymph node, causing a lump in her neck.

Synge said the scariest part was waiting to get her biopsy results to determine whether she had Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. They had “significantly different” outcomes, with the former having “high success rates” for a long-term cure, she said.

Synge said she had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but was told she was at risk of developing a “secondary cancer” from radiotherapy. “As the years go by, the risk continues to increase.”

Synge said she was having yearly MRI scans for breast cancer. Last year, she found a breast lump.

Synge said she was diagnosed with Stage 2A breast cancer in November and had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. She would also take a hormone inhibitor for the next five years.

Post-surgery, Synge said she was “stuck at home” recovering while “everyone else was having their summer”.

She eventually started feeling scared to “re-enter the world”.

Synge’s surgeon referred her to Pinc and Steel, which was a “gamechanger”.

“It got me up and out of the house again … ”

She said it was “priceless” to be in a group that understood what she was going through.

“I didn’t realise I needed it until I was there.”

Tauranga mother Jess Synge did a six-week paddleboarding course with physiotherapy rehabilitation service Pinc and Steel after being diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2024. 

Synge encouraged people to sign up for Dry July, as funds raised went towards Pinc and Steel’s programmes. She said she paid $60 for six weeks of paddleboarding with Pinc and Steel.

“That shouldn’t be a barrier for anybody … I don’t take it for granted that I have the ability to do that, but I know that there’s a lot of people that don’t.

“Sixty dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, but then when you might be someone who hasn’t been working for the last six months … it’s so significant and every little bit adds up.”

Synge said there was a lot of research about how important exercise and rehabilitation were for cancer patients and improving long-term survival.

She said it took three to four months after surgery to return to “full movement”. Synge said she had since returned to fulltime work – a career inspired by her first cancer diagnosis.

She was a radiation therapist for 15 years before switching to corporate work. Synge said she worked for Elekta, a global company that developed and produced radiation therapy equipment.

“I love my job because it still ties me to oncology.”

Dry July New Zealand campaign director Veronica Shale said the initiative raised crucial funds to help New Zealanders affected by cancer to access free, “life-changing” support beyond medical treatment. She encouraged people to sign up: “Rally your friends, commit to the challenge and together we can make a real difference for those facing one of life’s toughest battles. “You’ll be proud you did, and you might even enjoy it more than you expect.”

Sign up or donate at dryjuly.co.nz for cancer support services across Aotearoa. You'll be proud you did.