On 29 Nov 19, at the age of 35, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

I've always been a pretty active person. I've jumped out of aeroplanes, thrown myself down mogul fields, flown helicopters for a living and often been at the front of the queue to do anything generally a bit dangerous. I did not expect a cancer diagnosis to be the thing that floored me.

The journey so far has been tough. Christmas Eve 2019 was the phone call to tell me whether the cancer had spread. New Year's Eve was the 'picc line' insertion - a chemo delivery tube that tracked from my arm, through a vein in my chest, and into the artery above my heart. 2nd Jan was my 1st of 6 chemotherapy sessions. Just as the chemo started getting serious, so did COVID, and I had to wait to find out whether I was one of the 'lucky ones' who got to finish their treatment. Then 12 weeks of shielding began. June brought surgery. September brought 3 weeks of radiotherapy. And the next 10 years will bring daily and monthly preventitive tablets and injections.

This detail isn't for sympathy, but rather for context of what cancer patients have to go through. People face much worse, with much more bravery, and with much less support than I have and I'd like to be able to give something back, for them. I would like to raise money for 2 charities that are very worthy recipients.

1 - ‘Brighter Futures’, the charity that supports the Breast Unit at the Swindon Great Western Hospital, where I was fortunate to receive the majority of my treatment.

2 - Yeovil Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. Yeovi is now my local hospital and a dedicated Breast Unit is long overdue and would make a huge difference for patients.

The Ironman

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run.

On my final day of radiotherapy, I signed up for Ironman Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, Canada. Unfortunately this has been cancelled due to Covid so i will instead be doing Ironman Estonia on 7 Aug 21! Starting from zero fitness, with a dodgy surgery-induced swim stroke and daily joint pain that made it difficult to get out of bed, the training has been a monumental challenge. Luckily, I rather like a challenge!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so incredibly well to this point, and everyone who has already donated. You are incredibly generous and i am so grateful

Instagram

I am keeping a training blog on Instagram @illness_to_ironman_amy if you would like to keep up with my progress first hand.

I‘d be so grateful for any support you could give.

Thank you so much!

Amy

Yeovil Hospital Charity is launching an appeal to raise the funds needed to build a £2 million dedicated Breast Cancer Unit right here in Yeovil. They have already received a lead gift from a grateful patient who left a donation in their Will. This means they have already hit the £1 million mark and have another £1 million to raise. The new unit will bring all of the relevant services together, meaning that patients will no longer need to move around the hospital to access the various services they need. Patients can see a specialist nurse, have their clinical examination, an ultrasound scan, a mammogram, a biopsy, a prosthesis fitting and an appointment with a doctor, all in one place.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.