My Story

Hello, I am Amy and at just 30 years old I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of breast cancer - triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Triple negative breast cancer accounts for just 15% of breast cancer diagnosis overall, and tends to be a more aggressive type of breast cancer due to the cancer cells having a lack of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER or PR). It also does not make any or too much of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2).

Triple negative breast cancer tends to be more common in young women under the age of 40, women who are of black descent, or in those carrying a BRCA1 gene mutation.

TNBC tends to grow and spread faster than other types of invasive breast cancers, and overall has a poorer prognosis due to a lack of targeted hormone treatments that are often used when treating other types of breast cancer.

However, with the fantastic support of my surgical team, oncologist, and breast care nurse, we have come up with a brilliant treatment plan with the 'intent to cure' me of this disease, and new treatments and clinical trials specifically aimed at treating and targeting TNBC are in development and looking very, very promising for ladies currently undergoing treatment.

I am currently undergoing 6 months of intense chemotherapy - although chemotherapy is very tough it is absolutely essential I have this treatment as triple negative breast cancer is an aggressive cancer, and treatment must be equally aggressive. Chemotherapy can kill cancer cells at any point in their lifetime and can shrink cancerous tumours meaning when I have surgery, hopefully I will have a much better outlook going forward and all cancerous areas will be removed during surgery and clean, clear margins are left. My team has explained to me that whilst TNBC is currently going through clinical trials for targeted therapies, one thing they do know from studies and research is that this cancer is usually extremely sensitive to chemotherapy and many ladies have a very good response to chemotherapy, so I am staying as positive and strong as I can be that this treatment will be successful for me, as well as for anyone going through a similar situation to me. I am also undergoing immunotherapy at the same time as chemotherapy - immunotherapy has only been in worldwide practise for around 2 years but is showing promising results. Immunotherapy can help the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells and in combination with chemotherapy can be a powerful tool for cancer patients to fight back against cancer.

For now, I am focused on taking things one step at a time and staying as positive as I can be. Although receiving this diagnosis at such a young age was devastating, I am determined for some good to come from this situation. Just before I cut my hair short in preparation for chemotherapy, I was able to donate my long hair I had been growing out to a cancer charity and my hair will now be used to make a real human hair wig. Now, I have set up this fundraising page and I am raising funds for one of the UK'S biggest breast cancer charities - breast cancer now. I have chosen this charity because of the specific work they do in researching and funding breast cancer treatments, and this includes treatments for women like me with triple negative breast cancer.

I would like to take a moment to thank every single person who has visited this page and made a donation - no matter how small, your donation does make a difference and really means a lot to me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the outpouring of love and support I have received, as well as the support for my family at this extremely difficult time.

Amy x