In June 2022 after discovering a lump in my breast and having a subsequent biopsy I was told the news that nobody wants to hear. I’M AFRAID ITS NOT GOOD NEWS…….. IT’S CANCER. I felt numb with both shock (why me!!!) and fear (I’m going to die). I can not thank the Doctors and nurses enough for the empathy they offered me and the efficient way they got me into surgery. Then came the chemotherapy for 18 weeks. As we can all imagine from seeing it on the tv or hearing it from friends; It’s horrible. Sickness, fatigue and hair loss are what you see as a passer by but the mental fear and stress of waiting to realise if this poisoning is working is in my opinion far worse. As I counted down the weeks before the last chemo session the balance of relief vs doubt of its effectiveness was never stronger. The day I rang the bell 🔔 on a ward lined with smiley nurses will stay with me forever. However my high lasted less than a week to be dragged back down to an all time low when results came back that meant it was the genetic form of cancer that would almost certainly return. Another couple of meetings with hospital consultants and surgeons has led to me to being booked in to have an initial double mastectomy with a likelihood that further surgeries will follow due to this cancer’s association with the ovaries. To say I’m scared of what the future holds would not be an understatement but with the support of the cancer specialist, family and friends I intend to give this situation a real battle.

Now the awkward bit……. Anyone who knows me will be aware that I love running and that it’s one of the few things I’m quite good at. My racing diary this year is going to be significantly affected with the operations and recovery I have install. However I have a tiny window of opportunity to run the ‘Snake Lane’ 10 mile road race next weekend before my mastectomy. Although I’m only 3 weeks free of my chemotherapy and the poisons that still remain in me will hamper my results (compared to last year when I was the 1st woman to cross the line) I would love the chance to race/finish it again but this time not just for my personal enjoyment but to try and raise some money to go towards research that might one day mean that people do not have to go through what I have. I am going to run it with my partner Neil and his 74 year old father John. If you’re around Pocklington next Sunday 26th February please come and cheer us on; I’ll be the bald woman running in pink. I would also ask you, from the bottom of my heart, to click on this link to my just giving page on behalf of YORKSHIRE CANCER RESEARCH. Any amount would be truly welcomed. Thank you for reading this. Cancer will affect 1 in 2 of us and is totally ruthless in who it chooses to visit. Research is vital to stop it hurting all our families.

Love Helen 🧑🏻‍🦲♥️x