In November 2020, my beautiful twin sister, my best friend, my most favourite person, found out she had triple-negative breast cancer.  

What followed was a brutal amount of chemo, surgery and radiotherapy spanning 10 months. By October 2021 we thought she was through the worst and was on the road to recovery.

However, in April 2022, having had pain for some time and developing a persistent cough (her previous cries to her medical team constantly dismissed) we found out that her cancer had returned with a vengeance.  It had spread to her lungs, bones and kidneys, and pretty much everywhere else. Heartbreakingly Sarah received a terminal diagnosis.  At this point it was not known if this meant months or years, but we all thought we'd have longer than we did. 

Having previously been treated locally in Windsor, Sarah tried desperately to get herself more time, more time to be with her husband and two beautiful children aged just 15 and 13. 

She found out about a very promising drug trial at St Barts in London. In order to get on the trial, Sarah had to have countless appointments, tests & scans across different London facilities. Despite being fast tracked through this process, Sarah deteriorated rapidly and had to be admitted as was struggling to breathe. Sadly, her reoccurrence had just been caught too late and 10 days later on May 22nd she passed away. 

Never could I imagine to be without my twin by my side. The only way I can get through this is to give myself a focus and make her proud. 

Sarah received amazing care during her short time at Barts. If she had been listened to by her Windsor team maybe her reoccurrence would have been caught earlier, maybe she would have made the trial and maybe I would still have my sister.

I want to give back to Barts and help give others in her situation much needed hope, so I've rallied together 16 members of her friends and family to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon with me on 2nd April 2023. 

"Team Sarah" want to raise as much as we can to help others in a similar situation. We also want to pass on the message that knowing Breast Cancer exists is not enough. Get informed. Pass it on.

If there is one thing I've learnt in all this, is the need to be your own self-advocate. If you think something is wrong, please don't be fobbed off. As Sarah would say, be a pain in their side until something is done.

Bart's Charity are supporting the "Bart's 900" campaign. The campaign coincides with the 900th anniversary of health care at St Bartholomew's Hospital. 

The Bart's 900 campaign is looking to fund 2 medical centers, one of which is a dedicated Breast Care center at St Bart's.

This new Breast Cancer Centre will be a state-of-the-art facility and bring together surgery and post-surgery care in one place, improving every stage of the patient experience.

As well as improving breast cancer outcomes for patients today, it will also help make a significant contribution to global research, saving lives for generations.

Thank you so much in advance for donating whatever you can, it really will make a massive difference.