When Jade Payne, a mum-of-four, went in for a simple blood test before trying for another baby at 33, she never imagined the news she would receive.

Fit, healthy, and a devoted CrossFitter, Jade, now 34, had spent the past decade raising her children and was preparing to expand her family once again.

Instead, doctors found a 17cm tumour growing inside her left kidney.

The cancer was stage 2, and while the mass had grown out of the kidney, it was encapsulated - meaning it hadn't yet spread.

But the diagnosis carried a devastating twist.

Pathology revealed Jade had chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, an extremely rare cancer with no standard treatment plan.

All doctors can do is cut organs out if the cancer spreads - as the illness is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation.

'At first they told me not to worry,' Jade told the Daily Mail, recalling the moment doctors picked up unusual kidney function results.

Fit, healthy, and a devoted CrossFitter, Jade, now 34, had spent the past decade raising her children and was preparing to expand her family once again

Pathology revealed Jade had chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, an extremely rare cancer with no standard treatment plan

'I only got a blood test to check my iron levels - I had no symptoms, no indication that anything was wrong.

'But when my doctors said it was probably nothing, I went off on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Antarctica with my mum - kayaking, exploring, feeling like my best self.

'Then when I came back, I went in for an ultrasound and was told, "You need to go to emergency". I just kept saying, "I can't - I've left my four kids at home". But it was serious. Really serious.'

Days later, on Christmas Eve in 2024, a urologist confirmed what she feared most: renal cell cancer.

The tumour was so large that surgeons warned Jade she might lose not only her kidney, but also her spleen and part of her pancreas.

Chromophobe cancer is common in men over 65 with a long history of smoking and alcoholism.

'My doctors basically said, best case I lose one kidney. Worst case, I wake up and three of my organs are gone.'

Jade and her husband, from Geraldton, WA, tried to keep Christmas as normal as possible for their children, then aged 13, 11, 9, and 6.

The tumour was so large that surgeons warned Jade she might lose not only her kidney, but also her spleen and part of her pancreas

The kids had already lost their grandfather to leukaemia just two years earlier, and Jade couldn't bear to burden them with more fear

The kids had already lost their grandfather to leukaemia just two years earlier, and Jade couldn't bear to burden them with more fear.

'Not telling them was probably the hardest thing I've ever done,' she said.

'But how do you sit your children down on Christmas and say, "Mum has cancer" when you can't even answer their questions?'

On January 18 2025, Jade underwent surgery.

Against all odds, surgeons were able to remove her left kidney and the tumour, sparing her spleen and pancreas.

'The doctors just can't explain it. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I trained six days a week,' she said.

'I don't tick any of the boxes for kidney cancer. They kept saying it doesn't make sense.'

The aftermath has been gruelling.

Jade and her husband tried to keep Christmas as normal as possible for their children, then aged 13, 11, 9, and 6

With one kidney now in chronic disease stage 3, Jade has had to give up CrossFit and scale back her once-intense routine

With one kidney now in chronic disease stage 3, Jade has had to give up CrossFit and scale back her once-intense routine.

'It's been such an adjustment. I went from pushing my body to its limits every day to doing Pilates, being careful about water intake, avoiding dehydration,' she said.

Her children, once the carefree centre of her world, have become her helpers.

'After surgery we sat them down and finally told them the truth. They had so many questions - are you going to die? Will you need chemo like Grandpa?

'It broke my heart. But at least we could reassure them I wasn't going through that right now.'

Jade's diagnosis has also forced her to confront the hidden toxins in everyday life.

'When doctors couldn't give me a reason, I went looking myself,' she said.

'I realised the activewear I lived in - the nylon, the polyester - is basically plastic. Our cleaning products, cookware, bedding… it was overwhelming. I became obsessed with creating a low-tox home for my family.'

Determined to design size-inclusive, toxin-free activewear, Jade poured her recovery energy into building a brand she hopes will 'shake up the industry'

That obsession led to the birth of her new business, Wild Body.

Determined to design size-inclusive, toxin-free activewear, Jade poured her recovery energy into building a brand she hopes will 'shake up the industry.'

The line, launching later this year, uses organic cotton and sustainable materials, with thoughtful details from squat-proof leggings to compostable packaging.

But while business has given Jade a new sense of purpose, life remains shadowed by uncertainty.

Every six months she undergoes scans and blood tests, living with the knowledge that if her cancer returns, the only option is more surgery.

'It's just a waiting game,' she said quietly.

'If something grows back, they'll cut it out. That's my future. I'm 34 and already living with chronic kidney disease.

'But I want to see my kids grow up. I want to live.'

Before her diagnosis, she and her family had sold their home and spent seven months travelling around Australia in a caravan

For Jade's family, the diagnosis has been devastating - especially her mother, who is still grieving the loss of her husband.

'Mum just kept saying, "This should be me. You're too young. It's not fair",' Jade said.

Her husband, who rarely shows emotion, broke down when they got the news.

'He just kept saying, 'It doesn't make sense. You're the healthy one'.'

Still, Jade chooses gratitude.

Before her diagnosis, she and her family had sold their home and spent seven months travelling around Australia in a caravan.

'We swam with whale sharks, camped under the stars, had adventures I'd always dreamed of.

'Knowing I'd ticked off so much of my bucket list gave me comfort heading into surgery. If something went wrong, at least I'd lived that dream with my kids.'

Now, her dream is simpler: to keep living. To hold her children close. To nurture her one remaining kidney as best she can.

'I want to be here until I'm 90,' Jade said.

'I can't control what happens, but I can do everything in my power to fight for that future.'