Hello :)

This year I will be participating in the Larne half marathon alongside my partner Lee, my brother Jack and my stepdad David in aid of Action Cancer NI.

A little backstory as to why.

Back in late 2017, my mum made a decision which would completely impact and change all of our lives. At this time, my mum was promoting health and well-being within the council and it had been arranged that Action Cancer breast screening (‘the big bus’) would attend for the day. My mum attended for her mammogram. Little did my mum know that this decision would ultimately save her life.

Mum left the mammogram not thinking much would come of it as she hadn’t any symptoms of breast cancer nor had she felt a lump. Two weeks passed and mum was called for further investigation due to a suspicious image shown on the mammogram. Mum had biopsies taken and it was confirmed that my mum had stage 2 Breast Cancer within her left breast. It was a non-palpable mass in the centre of her breast (you could not have felt it by self breast examination). My mum was 44 years old.

I can still remember how numb and helpless I felt as my mum explained to me that she had cancer. I remember how angry I felt as all I could think was how could it be MY MUM going through this after everything she has already been through. My mum raised my brothers and I as a single parent with the help of our late grandmother. My mum devoted her life to us and put her life on hold to make sure my brothers and I had the best start to life. The most selfless, caring and kind woman I know, how could she possibly be diagnosed with breast cancer? At the age of 18 I was terrified and faced with the possibility of losing my mum.

My mum had breast surgery the week before Christmas in 2017. Thankfully the surgery was a success and the cancer was removed. Following surgery my mum had 4 weeks radiotherapy and was commenced on a 5 year long medication to help reduce the risk of breast cancer returning. Mum was also to attend annually for a mammogram.

Fast forward to 2023, 5 and a bit years later. Mum turned 50 in July and we celebrated in Croatia will all the family. Mum had finished her medication course in the April and we were all so grateful to celebrate mum and all she had overcome.

In October 2023, mum was called for her annual mammogram with the breast screening program, however, now that mum had turned 50 she was now eligible for her first mammogram within the NHS and they too had sent for her within the same week. Mum attended for breast screening once again. However to our dismay following her mammogram she was called again for further investigation due to another suspicious lump in her right breast this time. Biopsies were taken and mum was diagnosed with secondary primary breast cancer in her right breast stage 2, again this lump was non-palpable and wouldn’t be felt on examination.

Mum broke the news to us all together. The vulnerability and fear of losing our mum once again consumed us. Mum had her surgery again a week prior to Christmas. Removing the mass along with her central lymph node ( they test the lymph node for possible spread).

My mums central lymph node came back positive which meant that they needed to perform a more complex surgery to remove all lymph nodes in her right breast to see if there had been any spread outside of the breast.

Mum under went her second surgery at the end of January 2024 and it was a success. Mum required to have a breast drain institute for 5 days post surgery. We waited for the pathology of her lymph nodes for a couple of weeks but to our relief there were no other lymph nodes affected. Thus confident of no spread.

Following the removal of her breast drain, mum received 2 weeks intense radiotherapy and has been commenced on hormone suppression therapy once a month for 5 years administered by me (I’m a nurse).

Action Cancer is the only charity in the UK and Ireland to offer breast screening to women aged 40 – 49 and 70 plus who fall outside the NHS age range. Whereas the NHS only start screening at the age of 50 -70.

All in all you never think cancer will affect you, until it does. In Northern Ireland someone receives a cancer diagnosis every hour of every day and one in two of us will receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. Early detection saves lives and my mum is living proof of this.

By sharing our story and my mums experience I hope to stress the importance of early detection and being proactive when it comes to our health. Early detection saves lives and without Action Cancer I would’ve lost my mum. Words could never express how I feel about this charity because ultimately they saved my mums life not once but twice.

Therefore we will be running for all those affected by cancer, acknowledging the strength, determination and resilience shown by my mum and all those faced with the challenges of cancer.

Thank you for taking the time to read this :)

Katie