ANNE-MARIE’s STORY …

Isn’t it scary how just one sentence can change your life forever?

‘’ Anne-Marie, I’m afraid the biopsy does show you have breast cancer. … “

But amazing how one place, ‘Maggies’ can make life better.

I was in panic, terrified. For myself, my kids and Jamie and then just… numb! The first few weeks after a diagnosis is like no man’s land and you are only in possession of one jigsaw piece.

You know you have cancer but you don’t know if is anywhere else in your body and what can be done.

I think the hardest thing for me with my diagnosis was the acceptance it was happening and my levels of anxiety about what was ahead. I had my family and friends around me of course; who were amazing, from my Mam (we had also lost my Dad the week before my diagnosis) to Jamie, the kids and my amazing friends, but sometimes you feel so isolated, so lonely, and that you and only you are going through this.

I contacted Maggies to see if I could go in and talk to someone and the lovely Karen, who is the centre manager (at Newcastle), and an experienced breast care nurse talked my friend Alison and I through what to expect with treatment, what is normal and that it’s ok to be scared. Don’t get me wrong - she didn’t sugar coat it - because you don’t want to hear pipe dreams and miracles, you need to hear facts.

This really helped me rationalise what was happening and that there was a definite plan and that treatment plan was unique to me and ultimately, having cancer does not always mean death. Obviously, the consultants, doctors and nurses were amazing but I have to say I walked out of Maggies that Friday with a new sense of purpose, determined to think differently.

So almost a year on from that diagnosis, 8 rounds of chemo, mastectomy and lymph node removal, three weeks of radiotherapy and three weekly rounds of adjuvant therapy until July 23, I class myself as being a very lucky lady, or at least ‘lucky’ to get through it. The support I received from Maggies Newcastle really was the turning point for me.

So The Three Peaks Challenge is about giving back to Maggies. It is a haven of calm during a time of terror.

I would like to raise the profile of this amazing charity so others who are affected by cancer know they can just walk through the door, have free access to cancer nurse specialists, benefits officers, clinical psychologists and join in a range of groups and classes, or just to have a cuppa in the beautiful building and it’s surroundings – the kettle is always on at Maggies.

It costs £2400 per day to fund Maggies Newcastle , so with a great team of folk from my husbands’ work, ‘RTC North’, we are attempiting Three Peaks, Ben Nevis, Scafell pike, and Mount Snowdon in 24hours.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me on this journey, my family, my friends, colleagues at my workplace and the staff at Maggies. You all know who you are.

Please give as generously as you can.