A SCOTS singer, who was diagnosed with a rare cancer and given only three months to live, has made an amazing recovery – and will now perform at the 2012 London Olympics.
Jenna Jay, 22, spent months in hospital, lost all her hair while undergoing chemotherapy and had three-quarters of her liver removed in an 11-hour operation.
However, she never gave up on her dream of becoming a singer and has now been told by Olympic chiefs that she will be performing at the biggest sporting event in the world.
Ms Jay, of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, said: "I was absolutely ecstatic when I got the email saying I had been selected. I had to wait all through Christmas and New Year, constantly checking my emails all the time.
"It's something I wanted to do for a long time, I just wanted to be involved and I'm sure it will be an amazing experience.
"It's a big secret, so I don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but it's all to do with volunteering and performance in terms of acting through dance and movement."
Ms Jay was off school for a year when a hepatocellular carcinoma tumour was discovered in her liver in January 2000.
She said: "We had no idea anything was wrong till one day at school we were playing Pokemon and someone poked me in the stomach, which burst the tumour.
"I was in a lot of pain but I wasn't told that I had cancer, they just told me that my tummy was sore, because it wouldn't have been fair to tell me how serious it was when I was just 10."
Ms Jay was in the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital for six months until she moved to Birmingham for two weeks to have a major operation on her liver.
"I had an 11-hour operation to remove three quarters of my liver, which left me with a big scar," she explained.
"But I consider myself lucky, if the tumour had been any bigger I would have needed a transplant.
"After the operation my liver grew back to full size again within six months, so I think I was very lucky."
Ms Jay believes it was an act of fate to battle back from her horrific disease and realise her dreams.
She has always wanted to be a singer and her raw talent has been observed by many big names in the industry, such as singing coach David Grant, from hit TV series Fame Academy. Mr Grant told Ms Jay's mother, Susan Evans, that if Jenna moved to London she would have "record labels all over her".
And Ms Jay said the Olympics coincides perfectly with her big move down south: "I was already going to move down to London before the Olympics so it tied in very nicely.
"But I couldn't have done it without my family – emotionally and financially they've kept driving me on.
"I was destined to be a singer, ever since I had a singing lesson at school I knew that's what I wanted to do."
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