Update - my story, why I’m doing this!

In the summer of 2023, age 40, I proudly told my children that I booked myself a mammogram to make sure that I was all healthy, despite having no concerns at all, thinking I was being a super Mum and showing my kids how good it was to be proactive with your health. A few weeks later I got a phone call to ask me back for a further mammogram. The appointment was the following week and it resulted in a 3D mammogram and a biopsy of a suspicious lump in my left breast. Fast forward a week and those words you never want to hear were said ‘you have breast cancer’. Hearing those words was a real shock, but the NHS staff were so supportive as they explained to my husband and I the process that was to follow.

I didn't realise this but it was explained to me by my consultant that mammograms are harder to read in younger women as their breast tissue is denser, so before my surgery I had an MRI scan to make sure nothing else was there. Five days before my operation it was revealed that there was an additional tumour in my right breast, another total shock but thank goodness for that MRI.

I knew that technology had moved on in the cancer world, but I was surprised when I spoke to one of the amazing doctors that cared for me and she commented that even 5 years ago a tumour as small as the one in my right breast probably wouldn’t have been picked up, I realised I had been extremely lucky, even if having cancer was pretty rubbish.

I had a double lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy in October 2023 which was very successful and they removed all the cancer. The tumours were bigger than they looked on the scans and therefore many more tests and results were needed, including a test for the BRCA gene, which took forever to come back, but luckily came back negative. I then had to recover from surgery and take on radiotherapy in January 2024, which was not as easy as I hoped it would be.

Now, over a year on, I’ve had the all clear from my one year check up and I’m now taking on a totally different challenge, one that I chose to do rather than it being forced upon me. I am going to trek 100km round the Isle of Skye for CoppaFeel! in order to support their amazing work raising awareness of breast cancer and #feelitonthefirst to encourage people to check their chests on the first of every month, something which can and has saved countless lives. Not only am I taking on this physical challenge but I’ve committed to raising £2500 for the charity and am hoping to achieve some of this with my sponsorship page https://www.justgiving.com/page/victoria-morrissey-7 which I would be grateful if you could share wherever you can.

I realise that I was lucky to have found my cancer before it could be felt, but if everyone checks themselves every month and reports any changes to their doctors, hopefully more lives can be saved. This trek is a huge challenge for me, not only the walking, the camping, but sharing my story, engaging with people to raise money and awareness and leaving my family for a week. If you can spare a pound, it’ll help keep me going. Thanks.

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Anyone who knows me will need to pick their jaw off of the floor before reading this as they won't believe that I'm going to walk 100km around the Isle of Skye and CAMP in order to raise vital funds for CoppaFeel!

Please dig deep as I'm going to need as much help as I can to get me through 6 months of training and get me up all those hills in June.

CoppaFeel! are the UK’s only youth focused breast cancer awareness charity, and we’re on a mission to get every 18-24 year old checking their chest.

We educate people on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and encourage them to check their chests regularly, so that if they notice something unusual they are empowered to contact their GP and advocate for themselves. We do this because when diagnosed early and accurately, breast cancer treatments are more effective and survival rates are higher. Early detection truly can save lives.