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On the 10th Sept 2020, following a mammogram and biopsy, I received the awful news that I had breast cancer!  I was devastated, it turned our world upside down. The Consultant was lovely, he understood how we were feeling and described the next steps for us, however I was not ready to hear that I would need chemotherapy and radiotherapy after the operation! All I could think about was losing  my hair! . From this moment on, the care I received was fantastic.

Things progressed very quickly, within 3 weeks I had the lumpectomy to remove the 14mm lump and had some lymph nodes removed for testing. 3 weeks after that we were back at the hospital for the results. Great news! I was given the all clear, it had not spread into the lymph nodes!  I am grateful for the speed in which Solihull Oncology team treated me, they were amazing! 

I needed 4 sessions of Chemotherapy which started on the 25th Nov and by 11th Dec my hair had started to fall out! I decided to take control and shave it off, by my next session all my hair was lost. I found that the effects of chemo hit me the following week Tiredness and nausea took over for a while, I was feeling reasonably well by the next session just to be pushed back down again!  It was a difficult time, but we stayed positive, with friends and family at our side we knew we  could get through this.   I walked whenever I had the energy and I knew my hair would grow back so I didn’t let that bother me anymore. 😊 My last session of chemo was on the 29th Jan this year. 

I had a week of Radiotherapy which was in the 1st week of March, that made me very tired and I slept quite a lot at that time. Now I’m on hormone treatment which is making my bones and joints ache and I’m feeling much older than I should, but I have hair again 😃 albeit very short at the moment. 

I have some amazing friends and family, I had a knitted blanket from one, flowers,  cards and messages were received throughout my treatment from others. Every time I went for a walk, there was someone always ready to come out with me, whatever the weather or time. Thank you everyone for your support.

At the time I found it difficult to tell people so told only a few, please don’t be disappointed that I didn’t tell you, it is a difficult message to give. I feel ready to share my story now  that the main treatment is finished and I’m getting back on track. 

 I was 55 when I was diagnosed, so decided that I would do this challenge based on all the 5’s. From 5th May over 5 days, walk 55 km to raise £555 for the hospital that treated me. The team at Solihull were fantastic and I wanted to raise funds to help them create more chemotherapy units so that others can be treated as quickly as I was. 

These last 7 months have been a whirlwind and although I’m still struggling with tiredness, I wanted to do this challenge to help with my fitness but most of all, to raise funds to help others who are suffering at this time and in memory of all those we have lost to this terrible disease.  

If  you would like  to support my challenge, please donate using the link below, donations will go to Solihull Oncology Day Unit based at Solihull Hospital . 

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