The 59-year-old staunch cancer campaigner, who fought for seven long years to bring oncothermia treatment to Australia after losing her husband Ross to the disease, has been battling kidney failure for 10 years.

The cancer crusader saw her dreams come true in late 2012, with the arrival of the first oncothermia equipment in Australia, and a year later the opening of The Jenny Barlow Oncothermia Clinic at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.

Meanwhile, her own health issues were slowly taking a toll.

“Ten years ago I was told my kidney function was down,” Jenny said. 

It wasn’t until a life-altering experience made the decision for Jenny to do something about it.

“I was on flight QF32 that nearly crashed over Singapore, due to engine failure, coming back from India in 2010 on a research trip for oncothermia,” Jenny said.

“I had about two hours to think about my life and what I would do if I survived this crash. I decided I would go to a specialist.”

Having worked alongside various professors at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Jenny contacted a known professor and was referred to the Director of  Nephrology, Dr Zoltan Endre.

In 2013, Jenny began peritoneal dialysis from home, but still refused the option of a transplant.

Jenny went on to have five strokes, of varying degrees, before deciding it was time to put her name on the waiting list for a donor kidney.

In the meantime, she relocated to Wangi Wangi, south of Newcastle to be closer to the Prince of Wales Hospital and her specialists, including head of neurology, Professor Alessandro Zagami.

During Christmas 2015, Jenny’s name went on the Red Cross waiting list after three months of testing to confirm whether she was suitable for a transplant. 

“The list, it’s very fair, you only have one hour by phone to accept the donor or they phone the next person,” Jenny said.

“I was coming back from Port Macquarie visiting my son when I received the call. It was the professor letting me know I had been accepted.

On September 23, 2016, Jenny’s friend and former Gunnedah woman Kerry Rodstrom drove her to Prince of Wales. Jenny describes her new kidney as the “best birthday present”, after receiving the transplant just two weeks before her birthday.

“Organ donation is a gift, it’s a real miracle. I think it should be compulsory, there must be heaps of people waiting for things,” she said.

Jenny is now focusing on recovering after a few health set backs.