Overview

• Jemma Cushing died on July 27 after her breast cancer spread to her spinal cord and brain, having earlier dismissed lumps under her arms as swollen glands.
• In 2019 scans for unrelated bowel polyps led to Jeffrey Cushing’s breast cancer diagnosis and the discovery of a BRCA2 mutation that he later passed to his daughters.
• Sisters Shelley Raymond and Andrea Waterman, who carried the mutation, underwent preventive double mastectomies and hysterectomies in autumn 2021 and are now cancer-free on a five-year tamoxifen course.
• Diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in autumn 2021, Jemma Cushing had a double mastectomy, a hysterectomy and nine months of chemotherapy before scans showed metastasis in December 2023.
• The family has launched a GoFundMe for Jemma’s five children and is urging men to monitor lumps and seek early genetic screening.