I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (Breast Cancer) at the age of 33 in April 2020. It was deemed to have been caught ‘early’ and was at stage 2 with lymph node involvement. The global COVID-19 pandemic meant that a few hurdles were thrown in my way but following a single mastectomy with full node clearance, I completed 6 rounds of epirubicin, cyclophosphamide and docetaxel chemotherapy. I cold capped throughout which added to the intensity of my treatment but I was determined to keep at least some of my hair. I then had 15 rounds of radiotherapy and finished all active adjuvant treatment on the 18th December 2020. It was the most challenging time of my life, both physically and mentally. My family and friends were an amazing support though. They sent kind gifts and words of love and encouragement. They looked after my children (who were only 2 and 3 at the time) when I was recovering from surgery and too poorly after chemotherapy. They brought me food parcels which I gratefully received because the steroids made me ravenous!

Along with my family, Steph, my Macmillan and Breast Care nurse was amazing throughout my diagnosis and treatment. She was always there at the other end of the phone whenever I needed her; she kept me updated from all the MDT meetings so I didn’t have to wait for the official letters; she explained all the new terminology I was having to make sense of (IYKYK!) and she kept me calm in many moments of panic. She helped me make informed choices about my surgery options and helped everything make sense.

This is where the Charitable Breast Fund comes in and why I am choosing to fundraise for them. The charity was set up within Tameside hospital and any money donated is spent on the direct care of breast cancer patients at the hospital. Donations are used to purchase underarm pillows for comfort after surgery; it provides post-surgery ‘softies’ and other long-term breast prosthesis for women who have undergone a mastectomy. It provides younger women with picture books to help their children better understand what is happening to their Mummy. It is also used for courses that the breast care nurses may need to go on. All the breast cancer patients at the hospital benefit directly from these funds. So, this is my opportunity to give back to the services that were my lifeline in those scary first few months. I would be so grateful for even a £1 donation as it would take us that step closer to achieving our target of £1000 for this fantastic trust and the wonderful staff who work within it.

Thank you,

Fay and David x