Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On 15th September, I’m going to be embarking on Challenge Italy 124 which will find me swimming 2 miles in Lake Garda, jumping on my bike and cycling 120 mile to Lake Como and then swimming another 2 miles in lake Como…..all in just one day. My wonderful husband is my support crew for the day, he’ll be on a paddle board supporting me on the swim and at intervals on the bike providing much needed drinks and snacks. I have been training for this since February when I was finally given the go ahead to get back to this level of exercise after my surgeries. It’s been a real challenge coming back from zero to a level of fitness where I can tackle this. I’m not sure I feel ready but I know with certainty that I will complete it! 

I’m doing all this for Keeping Abreast - a charity close to my heart. They provide women like me with support through mastectomies and reconstructions due to Breast Cancer or as a preventive due to a positive gene test. Their network of volunteers put you in touch with woman who have been through similar situations providing you with reassurance, support and hope! As a volunteer myself, I have had the privilege of speaking to women facing difficult choices, but hopefully, my story and the stories of others provide some comfort. 

For those who don’t know me, this time last year I completed 6 months of chemo for Breast Cancer and during that time I took a gene test which was BRAC2 positive. This meant I had an 80% chance of having another primary breast cancer and 45% chance of ovarian cancer. With that news I had some really hard choices to make. To me they weren't really choices, they were necessities. Decisions that I never wanted to make!

In Oct 22 I ‘chose’ to have a double mastectomy and reconstruction. I was devastated, I always loved my breasts, they were part of me, and I could not imagine having anything replace them. Would hugging people feel different (this was important to me as I’m a hugger!)? Would people be able to tell? How big would my scars be? Would it always remind me of what I'd been through? Would I have any sensation left in them? Would I be able to save my nipples? Would I still feel feminine? Would my husband still be attracted to me? ….. These fears were so over whelming. Finding Keeping Abreast and listening to the stories on their website was an absolute godsend to me. Those brave women who shared their stories made it so much easier for me to lay rest to some my fears, it allowed me to say goodbye, grieve and welcome the new.

In the end I had a really positive experience, I was lucky, and I call them the “girls 2.0” and now I’m trying to get the body 2.0 to match lol! So I’m taking the girls 2.0 to Italy to smash this challenge and raise a ton of money to help reach so many more women struggling with these ‘choices’.

I hope that my story can help other people facing the same impossible decisions and encourage you to dig deep in helping such an incredible cause. 

Thanks Amelia xx