Alex Moore
The Big Pink 2017
Fundraising for Breast Cancer Care
Story
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I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on 21st September 2016, after finding a lump, I had grade 2 Breast cancer which had spread to the lymph nodes. The tumour was large, so required chemo first, a full mastectomy and lymph node removal, followed by radiotherapy and hormone drugs to take for 10 years afterwards. There was another complication - I found out I was pregnant 3 days after the Cancer diagnosis. After discussing the options, the pregnancy was putting a huge risk on the outcome, due to it being a hormone receptive cancer, so I made the difficult decision not to go through with it in order to give myself the best chance of survival for my two children's sake. Before I went through with that, I had a scan which told us that I had lost the baby naturally, so I had to have an op to evacuate my womb, before any cancer treatment could start and before I could have a scan to see if the cancer had spread anywhere else. As, you can imagine, this was a very difficult time, made worse by the delay in knowing how bad the diagnosis was and waiting for treatment to start. After another op to have a portocath fitted in my chest (where the intravenous drugs can be administered rather than using the veins in my arm), I eventually started chemo on 21st October. I had weekly chemo for 12 weeks, followed by 3 rounds of 3 weekly chemo, which made me sick, bedridden for up to 10 days at its worst, unable to look after my children, lose my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows and at times, the will to carry on! During this time, my mum also found out she had Breast Cancer through a routine mammogram and underwent a lumpectomy and 3 weeks of radiotherapy herself, while I was undergoing chemo. On 24th April I had a left mastectomy with lymph node clearance and DIEP reconstruction (which is where they use the fat from your tummy to replace the breast tissue). This meant I couldn't drive for 6 weeks or in fact do anything for myself for the first 3 weeks, including getting out of bed, showering or dress myself. Following surgery, I had radiotherapy, which meant travelling to the hospital every day 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. The treatment included having to use special equipment to measure and use breath holding techniques in order to keep the radiation away from my heart. It meant wearing what is similar to a snorkel set; a mouthpiece, noseclip and goggles, which were a little claustrophobic and was made harder with me catching a cold in the middle of it! All through chemo, I also received an intravenous drug called Herceptin, which continues for a full 1 year. I am still receiving this on a 3 weekly basis and the last one is due in December - just after my 40th birthday! I still have more surgeries and appointments ahead in the next year (mammograms, scans, physio, nipple reconstruction, nipple tattoo and port removal) but I intend to celebrate my birthday after Herceptin treatment has finished, and in the meantime, I am holding a Big Pink Bake Sale to raise money for Breast Cancer Care and celebrate me nearing the end of my treatment! My friends and family have been the most amazing source of strength and support to me, my husband and my two boys (who were 5 and 10 when I was diagnosed) and I can't thank them enough. Things are moving onwards and upwards for me now (touch wood) - I have started a new job after a year of not working, my hair is growing back thicker and darker than before, I have eyelashes (eyebrows are not back so well, but I had them microbladded!), I'm getting the strength back in my arm where the lymph nodes were removed and I'm back to walking my dogs every day, as well as also embracing new exercise with swimming and yoga too now. I still have to take tablets every day for the next 10 years and have hormone implants every 3 months for the next 5 years, which means I no longer have periods, but with that, I have also lost my fertility and have been put into early menopause, with all the lovely side effects that come with that. I hope I haven't lost you yet, sorry it's so long, it's just, many people ask how I'm doing and where I'm up to in my treatment, so I thought I'd explain fully for the first time, while hoping to raise awareness and money for a breast cancer charity that will fund support for other people that are suffering - I have met so many other ladies through my journey, similar ages to me, some who are still going through their treatment and personal difficulties, who need the support. I hope you can join me in celebrating and raising money (and eating cake) for this charity that is now so important to me and even if you can't be there in person, please feel free to make a donation here instead.
Don't forget to tick the gift aid box if you're a UK taxpayer as this increases the donation by at least 25% with no extra cost to you.
Thank you in advance,
Love Alex xxx
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on 21st September 2016, after finding a lump, I had grade 2 Breast cancer which had spread to the lymph nodes. The tumour was large, so required chemo first, a full mastectomy and lymph node removal, followed by radiotherapy and hormone drugs to take for 10 years afterwards. There was another complication - I found out I was pregnant 3 days after the Cancer diagnosis. After discussing the options, the pregnancy was putting a huge risk on the outcome, due to it being a hormone receptive cancer, so I made the difficult decision not to go through with it in order to give myself the best chance of survival for my two children's sake. Before I went through with that, I had a scan which told us that I had lost the baby naturally, so I had to have an op to evacuate my womb, before any cancer treatment could start and before I could have a scan to see if the cancer had spread anywhere else. As, you can imagine, this was a very difficult time, made worse by the delay in knowing how bad the diagnosis was and waiting for treatment to start. After another op to have a portocath fitted in my chest (where the intravenous drugs can be administered rather than using the veins in my arm), I eventually started chemo on 21st October. I had weekly chemo for 12 weeks, followed by 3 rounds of 3 weekly chemo, which made me sick, bedridden for up to 10 days at its worst, unable to look after my children, lose my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows and at times, the will to carry on! During this time, my mum also found out she had Breast Cancer through a routine mammogram and underwent a lumpectomy and 3 weeks of radiotherapy herself, while I was undergoing chemo. On 24th April I had a left mastectomy with lymph node clearance and DIEP reconstruction (which is where they use the fat from your tummy to replace the breast tissue). This meant I couldn't drive for 6 weeks or in fact do anything for myself for the first 3 weeks, including getting out of bed, showering or dress myself. Following surgery, I had radiotherapy, which meant travelling to the hospital every day 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. The treatment included having to use special equipment to measure and use breath holding techniques in order to keep the radiation away from my heart. It meant wearing what is similar to a snorkel set; a mouthpiece, noseclip and goggles, which were a little claustrophobic and was made harder with me catching a cold in the middle of it! All through chemo, I also received an intravenous drug called Herceptin, which continues for a full 1 year. I am still receiving this on a 3 weekly basis and the last one is due in December - just after my 40th birthday! I still have more surgeries and appointments ahead in the next year (mammograms, scans, physio, nipple reconstruction, nipple tattoo and port removal) but I intend to celebrate my birthday after Herceptin treatment has finished, and in the meantime, I am holding a Big Pink Bake Sale to raise money for Breast Cancer Care and celebrate me nearing the end of my treatment! My friends and family have been the most amazing source of strength and support to me, my husband and my two boys (who were 5 and 10 when I was diagnosed) and I can't thank them enough. Things are moving onwards and upwards for me now (touch wood) - I have started a new job after a year of not working, my hair is growing back thicker and darker than before, I have eyelashes (eyebrows are not back so well, but I had them microbladded!), I'm getting the strength back in my arm where the lymph nodes were removed and I'm back to walking my dogs every day, as well as also embracing new exercise with swimming and yoga too now. I still have to take tablets every day for the next 10 years and have hormone implants every 3 months for the next 5 years, which means I no longer have periods, but with that, I have also lost my fertility and have been put into early menopause, with all the lovely side effects that come with that. I hope I haven't lost you yet, sorry it's so long, it's just, many people ask how I'm doing and where I'm up to in my treatment, so I thought I'd explain fully for the first time, while hoping to raise awareness and money for a breast cancer charity that will fund support for other people that are suffering - I have met so many other ladies through my journey, similar ages to me, some who are still going through their treatment and personal difficulties, who need the support. I hope you can join me in celebrating and raising money (and eating cake) for this charity that is now so important to me and even if you can't be there in person, please feel free to make a donation here instead.
Don't forget to tick the gift aid box if you're a UK taxpayer as this increases the donation by at least 25% with no extra cost to you.
Thank you in advance,
Love Alex xxx
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
