Esther Parkinson remembers the moment she discovered she had breast cancer like it was yesterday.
The overwhelming feelings of disbelief, fear and anger turned her world upside down and left her in a numb state of shock.
While Esther struggled to accept her fate, her body endured 15 rounds of radiotherapy, six rounds of chemotherapy and two major surgeries. By the end of her treatment in 2014, she thought she was finally free.
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That freedom only lasted seven years. Esther, who lives in St Annes on the Sea in Lancashire, had her life thrown into turmoil once again when she felt a lump on her neck in 2021.
Her cancer was back, and this time it had spread to her spine and sternum. Tragically, the disease is now incurable.
When asked whether she would like a prognosis, Esther decided she would rather not know how many days she has left.
“I got asked at the time if I wanted to know how long I’ve got,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
“You have to live your life the best you can, otherwise you’re counting down the days. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, ‘How long do I have to live?’ and I don’t want to know. I just continue to live my life I want to.
“You deal with things as you need to, a get-up-and-go sort of thing. You do what you need to just to get through it, whether it’s fresh air or exercise. You do whatever makes you happy.”
Now aged 48, Esther is currently receiving cancer treatment at The Christie hospital in Manchester.
Though her cancer is incurable and tumours remain in her spine, her treatment has seen the lump in her neck reduce in size.
Esther, who recently retired from her job at Blackpool Council on ill health, will continue her treatment for the foreseeable future and returns to The Christie every month.
Recalling the moment she learned she had cancer again, she said: “I was clear for about seven years and in 2021 I found a lump in my neck. I went in for usual tests and there was a concern my cancer had returned.
“More scans showed I have tumours in my spine and my sternum area and it was a no-brainer to go back to The Christie where I was before. I’ve left work on ill health last year in September and that was a good decision. I don’t think I could have worked around treatment and that kind of thing. It’s given me breathing space.
“I was partly in denial because I didn’t want to have cancer again but the lump wasn’t going away.
“You have to be on the ball about these things. You have to make sure your health comes first and you don’t ignore it, but I was in shock about it.
“Your whole world turns upside down once more. Everything was going quite swimmingly, then, boom”
Despite her treatment, Esther has spent years raising money for The Christie charity and continues to challenge herself with fundraising activities.
She is set to take part in her 10th Great Manchester Run on May 21 to raise funds for The Christie hospital where she is receiving treatment. For more on Esther's fundraising, click here.
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