"Being told you have cancer makes your world stop and standstill" - Wolverhampton born business woman after cancer diagnosis
A high flying Wolverhampton born businesswoman is on a mission to raise £100,000 for charities after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Jothie Walford has worked her way up from working in sales at Worcester based tech company Gtech to become the managing director in eight years but five months ago she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer after discovering a lump near her armpit.
The 50 year old mother of two teenagers has her next treatment in early August and is continuing to work at Gtech, who manufacture cordless vacuum cleaners and sponsor Brentford FC's stadium.
The company has created the AirRAM 3 pink edition, a special version of their latest cordless vacuum cleaner, with 20 per-cent of profits going to Cancer Research, Macmillan Cancer Support and Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven where Jothie received help after the diagnosis.
Gtech founder Nick Grey has started the crowd funder of with a £1,000 donation and the company also has a Power Through Everything web page promoting the special cleaner and sharing stories of people who have been helped by the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven.
Brentford FC are also helping with the fundraising and a Bollywood style charty evening is planned in Worcester.
Jothie credits her success in business to the hard work ethic installed in her by parents - her father started off as a bus conductor when he came to England from India and later ran shops and clothing companies where she was employed.
After graduating with a science degree she spent 15 years in the banking industry, working for RBS and The Halifax, before re-locating to Worcester and successfully applying to Gtech.
She said she doesn't see herself as a role model for Indian women in terms of being successful in business, but is keen to promote the awareness of breast cancer within that community.
She said: "Being told you have cancer makes your world stop and standstill. When you get your diagnosis you feel really alone all of a sudden and you've got all these treatments coming at you.
"People don't want to talk about it when they're actually diagnosed, especially from my community, that being Indian.
"But 150 people across the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer every single day and it is no respecter of faiths, religion or anything else.
"I think coming out and talking about it, I'm hoping it will raise awareness and people will understand that it is more common, and it's nothing to be embarrassed about.
"I am more concerned about that than being a success story in business because what I would say is that is my parents who instilled the work ethic in me from a young age growing up n Wolverhampton and I am very grateful for them for doing that."
You can donate to the fundraising campaign here.
