Mother pleads for a concrete house -Cancer-fighting mom wants a secure place to house her children

Thirty-seven-year-old Gaileisha Jones feared the worst after being diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. The St Elizabeth mother, however, is now breathing a quiet sigh of relief after safely delivering her baby boy.

But six months on, she says a new battle has taken hold — securing stable housing for her children after a string of devastating setbacks.

Jones first came to public attention last year when her heartbreaking story of survival emerged. Then pregnant and newly diagnosed with cervical cancer, she was also grieving her mother’s death, struggling to care for her children, and trying to rebuild after Hurricane Melissa flattened her home in White Hill, St Elizabeth, leaving the family displaced and vulnerable.

Already weighed down by financial hardship, she was unable to work due to illness and pregnancy, instead relying heavily on relatives as she navigated medical appointments and the uncertainty surrounding her unborn child.

Despite doctors raising concerns about her pregnancy, Jones said she was determined to carry her baby to full term.

“I was worried up to the time I gave birth, because the doctors wanted to take the baby before the full term. I got my [blood] pressure under control and did what I needed to do, so I didn’t have to deliver prematurely,” she said.

Even while being nine months pregnant, she said she was still undergoing chemotherapy. Despite the treatment plan and high-risk pregnancy, she said her greatest fear was the possibility of serious medical complications for her and the baby. 

“I was so relieved when my baby was born and I had no complications,” she said.

After the birth, Jones stayed briefly with relatives as she tried to regain stability.

“I stayed at my aunt until February and she supported me, but I ended up moving back to my house in St. Elizabeth because we fixed up a ply [board] structure. I wanted to have my children with me, and even though I moved back I still couldn’t manage to have my daughter,” she explained.

That makeshift ply structure now serves as the family’s home on the same property where their original house once stood before Hurricane Melissa destroyed it. While grateful for shelter, Jones said life remains fragile and uncertain.

Still recovering physically and emotionally, she said caring for a newborn while battling illness has made daily life even more difficult, especially as she struggles to support  her autistic daughter.

Doctors had scheduled her to begin radiation treatment in January 2026, but Jones said fear and motherhood delayed her decision.

“I had just had baby and I didn’t feel like I bonded fully with him yet. I know the possible effects of the treatment, so I got scared and I didn’t start the treatment.”

She said that in March she began feeling ill again and returned to her previous hospital, where she was originally diagnosed with cancer. From there, she was referred to Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), where she has now restarted the treatment process.

Jones explained that she is scheduled to undergo an MRI on June 23. After that, she will be referred to Cornwall Regional Hospital, where she is expected to present the scans. Doctors will then use the results to begin the radiation treatment process.

Despite the difficult road ahead, Jones said she remains hopeful, leaning on family support and Jamaica’s public healthcare system.

“My family supports me how they can, and the treatment is covered through public healthcare, so I am making a way and hopeful,” she said.

But with the hurricane season now under way, her biggest worry is the fragile structure she calls home.

“My living conditions is what mi worry about the most, ‘cause we put up the ply structure fi live inna for now, but the hurricane season start and we never know when or what will happen,” she said. 

She said she wants to keep her children close to her and, although she may rely on family support to help care for them, she believes children need stability and is determined to provide that sense of stability for her family.

Jones is now appealing for help to complete a permanent home for her family.

“I am asking for the help to build up a concrete structure. Mi get help fi start it, but since mi can’t work it has been a hard task to go any further,” she pleaded.

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Anyone wishing to assist can contact Gaileisha at (876) 542-8856 or make donations to her NCB account #894295570