Hastings woman's legacy will "save lives", charity says
Campaigner Jules Fielder passed away this month after a five year battle with double lung cancer
The legacy of a Hastings woman who died after a cancer misdiagnosis will save lives, a charity says.
Jules Fielder passed away this month after a five year battle with double lung cancer.
The 42-year-old campaigned against stereotypes around the disease - after repeated misdiganoses meant her cancer was terminal before it was found.
As a non-smoker, she felt her healthy appearance was a barrier to her receiving timely care, with doctors suggesting it was sciatica or tennis elbow.
Rachel Avery, from the Roy Castle Lung Charity, who Jules worked with, described her as "very determined":
"I think that's why she achieved everything that she achieved.
"Everything she did, it wasn't for her own story, her own celebrity or anything like that.
"She just genuinely wanted to make a difference."
One of Jules' biggest achievements was securing signage asking customers in Boots' cold and flu aisle if they noticed a cough that had lasted longer than four weeks, as well as awareness posters in its consultation rooms.
"She had very non-specific symptoms," Rachel explained, adding that lung cancer symptoms "can be vague".
"She didn't actually have any respiratory symptoms as well.
"She had shoulder pain, back pain and she had a lump in her neck - those were her primary symptoms and they were never pieced together.
"She described them as like jigsaw pieces, but they were all looked at individually rather than collectively.
"Symptom awareness was a big thing for her." Rachel added that the work the charity continues to do to raise awareness around lung cancer will be with "one-of-a-kind" Jules in mind.
"It is a disease that can and does simply affect anyone and Jules's story is a prime example of that," she said.
"I think if she was to leave one message, it would be that if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer." Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.