So here is my story

On the 21^st of July 2016 I was diagnosed with follicular carcinoma aka Thyroid Cancer after taking a lump out in my neck. I remember sitting in the chair thinking 'I'm 21 years old, i'm way too young to have cancer!' And 'are you sure it's me who has it?' (Selfish I know). At that moment in time it didn't sink in nor did i have questions about what's going to happen next.

Linda, my Macmillan nurse directed us into another room to discuss the next steps. I was given multiple booklets on types of cancer, living with cancer etc, everything you could imagine with the word cancer, I was given.

At the end of August I had another operation to remove the rest of the thyroid. This left me quite ill afterwards and had me feeling like I was in one of the lowest points of my life. Nevertheless I sat down and had a cuppa with Linda to talk more about my treatment and other services I would have access to whilst also talking about how I was doing. It was just what I needed because I was given the opportunity to be honest about how I felt and thought about the whole situation to someone outside my friends and family. Though most of the time I was just chatting rubbish it felt a little bit better just to vent and have someone who could listen.

Two months later in October I was finally at my last stage of the treatment. I was given a Radioactive Iodine Pill to kill off the remaining Thyroid cells to ensure there would be no risk of this cancer returning. It’s easy enough to take a pill as the solution to Thyroid Cancer, but three weeks prior I had to go through a low iodine diet. In other words no seafood, no processed foods, minimum amount of salt, no dairy (chocolate, milk, cheese etc), no eggs. Thankfully I had Linda to help me through all this struggle and dilemma of whether or not to have that one forkful of cake. All this happened within a time period of just 5 months and I have to say, it has been intense and got me feeling like I was on an emotional roller coaster this whole time.

Cancer will affect 1 in 2 of us and has touched many of our lives whether through a friend, family, stranger or ourselves. Words cannot begin to express how fortunate I was to come across Macmillan. Each person uses this charity differently and in my case, the odd cuppa and weekly emails gave me the emotional support I needed. Being able to know that Linda would be just a phone call away if I ever needed any support or motivation was unbelievably helpful. I know it might seem odd because I could have just called my mum or talked to a close friend, but it felt better to talk to Linda because of her experience in this field and her perception of what I was going through at the time.

Each person uses Macmillan differently but what Macmillan has done for me and also many others was invaluable. It has also just dawned on me how ridiculously fortunate I have been to receive the help of Macmillan because unfortunately my mum who was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer 13 years ago was not offered Macmillan because they didn’t have the funding back in Worcester or Wolverhampton. Thankfully my treatments was in Nottingham, where there is a large Macmillan presence.

As such I would like to take this opportunity to ask for all your support in helping me raise money for this outstanding charity! To ensure there will be a greater Macmillan presence in more locations throughout the UK I am determined to raise £2000 to fund nurses and more hospitals so that those who are going through treatment including their families will be able to receive care throughout their journey, just as I have.