Every 10 minutes a woman in the UK is diagnosed with breast cancer. On the 2nd of December 2022, this was me.

Just two weeks earlier, I’d been celebrating a big birthday, dressed in double denim (think noughties, Britney & Justin Timberlake), singing my heart out with the gals at a bottomless brunch. When people asked “how do you feel about turning 30?”, I had a much bigger cloud over my head…

I knew my risk of cancer was increased as I’m a BRCA2 carrier (my only slight similarity to Angelia Jolie). After having symptoms, I’d been fighting for a proper scan for months and, over my birthday, was waiting for further tests after receiving worrying results. I’ll save you from a full rant but following being told I was “too young for cancer”, lost referrals, and incredibly poor communication of results, let’s just say I no longer trusted the hospital I was initially allocated to *side eye*.

After borderline harassing hospitals across London for what felt like the longest month ever, I managed to move to St Bart’s and as soon as I met the team (of angels), I cried with relief. The care has been amazing, with a personalised approach, easy access to nurses, out of hours surgery to save me from infection and even lots of laughs when pulling tubes out of my body!

In September 2023, my scans showed ‘no evidence of disease’ *YAY*.

You might be thinking ‘hang on Emma, this was only last year, what the bloody hell are you doing?’ I’m thinking it too… I’m not a runner, and at 5”1 with very short legs, I definitely don’t have a running physique. But more importantly, I want to….

- Show my eternal gratitude to the St Bart’s team for the comfort, support and treatment they have provided throughout, and which continues to this day

- Raise awareness that early detection saves lives, so know your normal and your body, and be persistent when you feel something isn’t right

- Get Olly off my back about improving my VO2 max fitness!

- Recognise that movement is a privilege. I’d be totally lying if I felt this every run, but after surgery I couldn’t even lift a drink to my mouth and lost all my strength. You don’t know when your ability to move will be taken away from you so take the opportunities whilst you can

Last year some of my friends and family ran the Hackney Half raising over £8,000.. Now it’s my turn to say thanks (and get our total over £10k)!

Okay great sob sorry, but where will my money go?

The dream team at St Bart’s are fundraising to create a new Breast Cancer Centre. It’ll improve surgery and aftercare for people in East London which currently has poorer outcomes than most of the UK. The centre will also make a significant contribution to research to improve care across the globe. My experience of excellent care at St Bart’s should be more common and I trust them wholeheartedly to work on the important issues for other people like me.

Any donations would be so appreciated and make each little plod that bit easier (please don’t forget Gift Aid!) xx

Read more about my story and the amazing care at St Bart’s: https://www.bartscharity.org.uk/our-news/breast-cancer-awareness-month-emmas-story/

Find out more about Barts 900: bartscharity.org.uk/the-barts-900-campaign/

Know the symptoms of breast cancer and learn how to check your chest: https://coppafeel.org/breast-cancer-info-and-advice/breast-cancer-symptoms-signs/

Sign up to get monthly reminders to check your chest from CoppaFeel: https://coppafeel.org/get-a-reminder/