Help Jo fulfil dying wish to launch Woodhall Spa's Guides

Jo and Mike's wedding at St Peter’s Church, with the Rainbows and Guides as a guard of honour. Sam Freeman/Cannon in the Country

Jo Rinfret, 45, was diagnosed with womb cancer in June 2021, and after having a hysterectomy, was told the cancer was contained and it was curable with cautionary chemotherapy.

But it was later found that it had spread to her ovaries, so she underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy which was thought to be successful.

But then in April 2022, she started experiencing pain again and it was found the cancer had returned and had spread to her peritoneum (the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity).

Jo and Mike Rinfret's wedding at St Peter’s Church. Sam Freeman/Cannon in the Country

Jo was then put on a new drug trial in London, which was unfortunately unsuccessful and was stopped in September, and then she was put on chemotherapy again, but in December, she was told that the chemotherapy wasn’t working as the cancer was too aggressive, and that sadly she had only an estimated three months to live.

Incredibly, she is still working at her Neat and Pressed dry cleaning in Woodhall Spa even now, and said she has tried to stay positive – even threatening to kick her doctor out of her hospital room if he continued to be negative when she said she would plan her wedding to her partner Mike for April 2023!

"There are days when it feels so unfair, but it is what it is and I can’t sit here crying over it, wasting what time I’ve got left.” she added.

She did indeed marry Mike at St Peter’s Church in April this year, with the Rainbows and Guides of the Woodhall Spa groups she leads as a guard of honour.

Jo Rinfret is trying to relaunch Woodhall Spa's Guides group. Photo: Holly Parkinson

And now, Jo is planning to relaunch the 2nd Woodhall Spa Guides before she passes away.

“I run the Rainbows and Brownies in Woodhall and have lots of girls feeding up in the next six months into the two closest units in Horncastle and Coningsby, which both have long waiting lists, one being nearly 18 months long,” she explained, “If we don’t start the Guides group, we might lose these girls.”

JO has also been nominated for a BBC Make a Difference award in the new Bravery category for her hard work.

After a successful appeal for help to run the Guides, Jo now has the help of a number of local ladies to run the group, and is appealing for any local girls aged between ten to 14 who would be interested in joining the Guides to get in touch by calling Jo on 07843 441767.