Running for Breast Cancer Now

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting my fund-raising page. I am hoping to run the 3/4 Thames Path Ultra Challenge on Sept 14 2024 and I could use your help. The course is a continuous 72 km of the beautiful Thames Path, starting in Hurst Park and ending in Henley-on-Thames.

Why 72 km?

I thought I'd be ready for the full Thames Path Challenge, which is a 100 km, but who am I kidding? It's only a few weeks away and I am nowhere near where I'd like to be in terms of fitness. There are options to run portions of the route and the 3/4 option seemed like a doable distance.

Why Breast Cancer Now?

Breast Cancer Now are the UK's largest breast cancer charity. They are dedicated to funding research into this devastating disease. The charity is bringing together all those affected by the disease and trying to improve the way the disease is prevented, detected, and treated. The charity believes that if we all act now, by 2050, everyone who develops breast cancer will live. I trust that the choice of charity makes perfect sense to those of you who read this page. Please consider making a donation, no matter the amount. We will be immensely grateful to you. Thank you!

Jana's Story

I didn't pick Breast Cancer Now at random, unfortunately. On 13th July 2022, my wife received a phone call from the breast clinic at Royal Berkshire Hospital to make an in-person appointment, and her scheduled phone call appointment was cancelled. Her breast surgeon, Dr. Cuffolo, told us the tissue samples taken from both her breasts during the recent biopsy looked suspicious for cancerous changes. Only a week later, our world was turned upside down as Dr. Cuffolo confirmed our worst fears. The diagnosis was bilateral invasive ductal carcinoma – different cancers in both breasts. The right side was HER2-positive, and the left side was triple-negative - an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options.

Preparations for the treatment started almost right away. She underwent a full-body scan to establish whether the cancer had spread to different parts of her body, including sentinel lymph nodes. The scan results came back clear. Jana had a Zoladex injection administered to her abdomen to protect her ovaries from damage caused by the treatment. She would continue having these every 3 weeks until the treatment was finished. A couple of weeks later, a small implantable device was installed underneath her skin near the large vein in the upper chest area under conscious sedation. Chemotherapy drugs would be later delivered through this port. She was also put on filgrastim, a daily injection for 7 days following every round of chemotherapy, to lower the chance of neutropenia. Jana absolutely hated the injections and said they were worse than chemo! Jana healed from the minor surgery quickly and Zoladex caused her no side effects.

On 6th September 2022, Jana started a gruelling chemo treatment. Epirubicin, often referred to as red devil, in combination with cyclophosphamide, were administered through her port, with possibly very serious side effects. Following the first round, my wife appeared completely normal. She cleaned, cooked, went shopping and later trained with me in the evening. The following morning was rough. I woke up to the sound of her being sick. Fortunately, this happened only once, and she never was sick again. The pink bucket she bought specifically for this purpose has been collecting dust ever since in the loft. Her strong anti-sickness medications worked like a charm, contrary to what many other cancer patients report!

Jana couldn’t care less when her beautiful long hair started falling out 12 days after the first infusion and was, in fact, a bit too keen to cut it off. When I was shaving her head, I was gutted but she didn’t bat an eye. The resulting haircut was rather shocking. I pray there will be a day when no husband will ever have to shave his wife’s head. Jana enjoyed wearing multiple wigs throughout all her treatments, and you would never know she was sick and undergoing the treatment. When out and about, she always looked radiant, healthy, and beautiful.

At home, it was a different story. Her skin looked pale and grey, with dark circles around her eyes, looking very fragile and lifeless as she made herself comfortable and fell asleep on the sofa after each infusion.

The second round was the most challenging one physically. The 3-4 days after every infusion were generally the worst, after which she would then bounce back quickly. Her oncologist, Dr. Madi, wrote the following: Jana had an excellent response to the treatment. This was after the second round he saw her in his office. The tumour on her right side was shrinking rapidly. Because her treatment was going so well, there was no need for a personal visit.

After the 3rd cycle, Jana contracted her first COVID-19. It was not very good timing, given that her immunity was severely weakened. We rushed her to the hospital where we spent the night in A&E with possibly life-threatening neutropenia, but she recovered swiftly within 5 days.

Somehow, the 3rd round was the easiest, with almost no side effects. Going forward with rounds 4-7, but with a different drug called docetaxel, her body somehow adjusted to chemo drugs so well that she barely reported any side effects apart from a sore mouth and nosebleeds. That one was difficult for me to witness, but she took it in stride. Her oncologist wrote the following report: I am pleased to report that Jana is handling chemotherapy really well and has little to no side effects. Jana ate well during the treatment, which was a relief. On top of that, she started phesgo injections, a targeted therapy for the HER2-positive cancer. Shortly afterwards, her hair started growing back as strong, thick, and healthy as ever, and I was elated! It is currently at arm’s length and still growing beautifully.

After finishing the chemotherapy, Jana’s tumours melted away remarkably. She had a 100% response to the treatment on the right side and about 90% on the other side.

Our story was far from over as Jana underwent 16 rounds of radiotherapy (in total for both sides) in May 2023 with no side effects apart from redness.

As I was driving Jana to radiotherapy in Bracknell, a little ball of fluff screamed bloody murder every time my wife left the car, only later settling in her seat and falling asleep – our new puppy Toffee that kept me company.

In September 2023, Jana had her port removed. She brought it home, wrapped in a gauze. I thoroughly washed it, we marvelled at it for a while, and put it away in the loft as a keepsake – a bit quirky, I know!

Apart from the port installation & removal, my wife went through 3 surgeries. The first surgery was scary: she went into anaphylactic shock from a blue dye, and ended up in ICU.

After her last major surgery, she woke up, and 10 minutes later, she wanted to go home! She was up and about, helping other patients after their surgery and did not need a single painkiller as she experienced little to no pain. I joked she heals like Wolverine, and so she did!

Her surgeon wrote: Jana had zero complications and made an excellent recovery.

10th April 2024 was our last visit to the breast clinic. We received the result from the latest biopsy, and Jana was officially declared CANCER FREE , or in medical terms, with NED (no evidence of disease). We were ecstatic!

I would like to add that Jana’s Christian faith carried her through the entire cancer journey.