Cancer woman 'must pay for gym'

Jayne Willison's deal with the gym runs until March 2004

A woman with cancer has accused a gym of being heartless for not letting her cancel her membership.

Jayne Willison, from Maidstone in Kent, joined Heart Matters when she was recovering from breast cancer, hoping it would aid her recovery.

The 41-year-old entered into a verbal agreement to end her membership if the cancer returned, but the gym then changed ownership.

Mrs Willison's cancer has returned but the new owners of the gym have said she will have to keep paying her subscription until it runs out next year.

They've been so rude, they've got no sympathy whatsoever for me Jayne Willison

The new owner of the gym, Profiles for Women, was under no legal obligation to cancel her membership, but Mrs Willison said she thought the company was being unkind not to treat her as a special case.

She joined the gym in March 2002 on a two-year deal as part of her attempt to get over her first brush with cancer.

The gym changed hands two months later.

In March this year Mrs Willison was told by doctors that she should not go to the gym because the cancer had spread to her spine.

She stopped her direct debit in April but the company which owns the gym has begun legal action to reclaim £395 in missed payments.

She said: "I was diagnosed in March with a recurrence of the breast cancer that I had four-and-a-half years ago.

"It is now classed as a secondary cancer in the bone so I have got it in my spine, which really is the reason why I cannot think of returning to the gym.

"They've been so rude, they've got no sympathy whatsoever for me, it's just a case of pay up and shut up."

The BBC approached the gym owners for a statement but Profiles for Women said it was unable to comment.