Kirsty has been aware of a cyst on her leg since May 2016 following a netball injury. Over the last 3 years, she's regularly been back to the hospital with pain after activity and heat in the side of her leg. 

Last year, she was given 2 options to correct this 'benign lesion' -  a bone graft op or to leave it. After choosing to leave it, another doctor showed more concern about the symptoms and referred her to Birmingham (one of 5 specialist centres for Sarcoma in the UK).

After a biopsy, she had the shock result of high-grade osteosarcoma. 

Osteosarcoma is a form of bone cancer with roughly 150 diagnoses in the UK each year - classing it as rare cancer. Sadly it is also known as a childhood cancer with occurrences peaking in children aged 10-14. Treatment pathways involve a lot of overnight stays in the hospital for an intense chemotherapy regime and a surgery to remove the effective area. 

At the time of writing (1st Jan 2020), Kirsty is in the middle of her treatment. 

The Macmillan finance team have been incredible. As someone who was self-employed, it was a real relief to for her to know she could have some expert support in understanding what financial help she could receive, where from, and how to access it. 

Alongside this, they have a wealth of resources to help her understand her cancer and treatments available. She is currently awaiting her surgical decision, but she knows there will be a Macmillan nurse in each of her appointments if she needs them, or psychological support as treatment gets harder.

We're in awe of Kirsty's attitude and resilience through this process. The optimism and pragmatism she exudes is nothing short of inspirational. As a thank you to Macmillan for all they're doing for her, we want to push ourselves further than our previous swimming challenge (5km each) and take on the Triple 5km in 2020. 

We're also swimming for our family friend Suzy Prime, who is receiving treatment for lung cancer.