Jordan 'upbeat' as she battles cancer

Glamour model and new mother Jordan is staying “remarkably upbeat” as she battles a rare form of cancer, her spokesman said today.

The 24-year-old was diagnosed just days after it was confirmed that her baby Harvey, born incurably blind, also has a growth defect.

The cancer, called leiomyosarcoma (LMS), attacks the smooth muscle cells found throughout the body and started with a tiny lump on her finger.

Her spokesman, Dave Read, said: “It is absolutely unbelievable.

“Jordan hasn’t even come to terms with Harvey’s condition yet, and now she has to deal with this too.

“It is going to take a very strong person to deal with this and hopefully that is what Jordan will be.”

Jordan, whose real name is Katie Price, told the News of the World she was “absolutely numb” when her consultant gave her the news on Thursday.

Her manicurist first noticed the lump on her left index finger when she was four months pregnant, but doctors told her not to worry about it.

But a biopsy on the lump carried out in June, shortly after Harvey’s birth on May 27, found that it was malignant.

Jordan received the diagnosis after returning from a trip to Los Angeles to publicise her forthcoming appearance in Playboy magazine.

Mr Read added: “She is remarkably upbeat but the news is only a few days old so it is still sinking in.

“We’re hopeful that it has been caught in the early stages and the doctors say we have got a fair chance because of that.

“They reckon Jordan had probably had it for a while but the pregnancy accelerated it.

“But they say it is likely it will recur.

“Jordan will have to keep an eye out and check other areas, particularly under the arms, because it could spread through the blood vessels.

“We have now got to book appointments with specialists and with sarcoma clinics. It is possible, of course, that she could need chemotherapy or radiotherapy.”

LMS affects just one in four million people and in late stages there is only a 50-50 chance of survival.

Smooth muscle cells make up the involuntary muscles, such as the uterus, stomach and intestines, that cannot be controlled by thinking about them.

LMS is notoriously unpredictable and can also grow in the skin and in blood vessels, veins and arteries.