A Havering Members Fight with Cancer:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – a worldwide annual campaign involving thousands of organisations highlighting the importance of breast awareness, education and research. UNISON is the largest women’s organisation in the country with over one million female members.
I will never forget the date 24 May 2017 and those fateful words “I am sorry to tell you that you have breast cancer.” In an instant my world was turned upside down. I had no symptoms, I regularly checked myself and hadn’t felt any lumps yet I had to get my head around it I had breast cancer.
I had so many questions yet they weren’t about my treatment. How do I tell my children? What do I say to work? How do I tell my family and friends? I didn’t want to see their faces or to watch my children’s hearts break. Would my daughter consider cancelling her wedding? I hoped she wouldn’t.
The next week was full of hospital appointments, meeting my consultants and care team. My treatment plan was laid out before me and all I was focused on was when will my operation be as I needed to fly out to Kos for my daughter’s wedding. I was so naive.
I read the information I’d been given it talked about stages and grades, then moved onto types what surely there was only a couple of types how wrong was I! It suddenly hit me as I walked out of the hospital it was like being in a supermarket where instead of food there were types of breast cancer, stages and grades. Yet I still had to tell those I loved. Fortunately my husband stood by my side and when I felt weak and wanted to hide he picked me up.
My operation and sentinel node biopsy was on the 9 June just 16 days after diagnosis. I hadn’t even thought about needing my lymph nodes examined or the blue dye that was injected into me. Yet again I was determined that I wasn’t going to stay in hospital over night I needed to be home where I felt safe. I was lucky I was able to be released that night on the understanding that I rested. In truth I had no energy other than to stay in bed.
The next few weeks flew by a wedding took place and then I was given the news that I had clear margins and would only need radiotherapy and medication. In my head I would be back at work by September, however I hadn’t realised just how much the treatments had taken out of me. My body desperately needed to recover and this was no more evident that the morning when I woke up with a numb arm and then suddenly shooting pains my mind went into overdrive I thought I was having a heart attack no it wasn’t it was just nerve damage that I am still living with today. I knew then that I needed to slow down I’d been through so much in such a short period of time that my body wasn’t going to recover quickly.
I knew I was struggling and contacted the staff welfare scheme to get counselling. I thought I would be ready to return to work in January 2018, however I noticed that my other breast was showing changes to it I immediately contact my care team. At this point in time I contacted unison to ask for support with my return to work interview. The meeting was held and agreed that I would return in the January however my cancer had other ideas on that front.
I was back in hospital for further treatment and this time chemotherapy followed. I felt so alone home was my safe haven and I didn’t want to leave it. I had lost my ability to trust and felt completely isolated. I found the courage to contact my GP who arranged counselling for me as well as liaising with my care team to get me other medications that I needed.
I can honestly say that I was lost, caught up in a world I didn’t want to be in. However throughout this period of time my union rep was there to support me with meetings, occupational health appointments etc. I remember saying in one meeting that I was finally able to trust my union rep and had shared with her the list of medications I was taking and the side effects that they had on me. I was no longer ashamed or afraid to say what I was going through I had found my confidence again.
That year I went to the Havering Show and spoke with the YMCA who told me that they offered 12 weeks free fitness session for cancer patients I was not ready to take them up on this offer but Pat told me to register when I was ready. I’m starting these sessions on 5 October it’s taken me that long to be comfortable as to where I am now.
Breast cancer isn’t pink and fluffy, don’t ask me to put a heart on my Facebook page it doesn’t mean a thing.
All I ask is that you all, yes men that means you as well, check your breasts regularly. 13 women die each day from breast cancer and 370 men are diagnosed each year.
