The Power Of Woman.
When given an incurable breast cancer diagnosis, most people immediately research and read and Google and question anything and everything so that they can find hope that what the doctors are telling them is wrong.
Sadly, it rarely happens because once primary breast cancer has spread beyond the breast, we are deemed incurable.
Can you imagine what that might feel like? 31 of us are dying from secondary (not primary) breast cancer every single day. When you go to sleep tonight, 31 families in the UK alone are grieving for their mummy, their daughter, their sister, their partner, their friend. Lives demolished brutally day in and day out.
Imagine you being the one with the diagnosis, knowing that when you close your eyes for the final time, there’s going to be so much pain for the people that you love more than anything in this world.
The only thing going through my mind when I was told to aim for three years, was my family and friends, but especially my little baby girl. How could she possibly ever be happy again or understood in the way only I know how? It was excruciating.
At the end of April, I took part in a campaign with the incredible Make2ndsCount - launched by a powerhouse of a woman; Lisa who is living with secondary breast cancer too. We are making it our mission - to tell the world, we’re tired of fighting to be heard.
After the end of treatment, it feels as though you’re sent on your way sooner than you’d like - it feels ‘safer’ to be kept under the watch of the pros.
In the years after being discharged, I had been back and forth on a few occasions to tell them I was concerned about pain behind my breast and arms.
At times, I felt so uncomfortable - as though I was just worrying over nothing - kind of like I was wasting their time and my concerns were irrational.
Three days after one of these appointments where I’d been told I was fine - and given drugs to ‘relax me’, I found the lump - the one that had been silently growing from behind my breast, into the lymph nodes in my arms, and the biggie - my neck.
At the appointment to confirm that I actually ‘hadn’t been worrying over nothing,’ they confirmed I was incurable, told me to aim for three years and asked me did I need any help writing my will.
I walked out of that room that day without a single ounce of hope.
And that is exactly why Stage 4 needs more. Our voices, our concerns and our wishes need to be heard.
Make2ndsCount is a charity that is aiming to change the way secondary patients are treated.
They’re fundraising to help advance crucial research of secondaries - a very small percentage of funds are given to secondary breast cancer in general and we aim to change that.
We have lost two of our girls in this year to secondary breast cancer.
Emily was 30, with three young girls. Her cancer had spread to her brain which caused a bleed and she shockingly and suddenly, died.
Even as a stage 4 cancer patient, a brain scan had not been given to check for progression. That’s quite common in the cancer world - which feels insane to us. Just scan us FFS!
I understand radiation can be dangerous - and we are very often reminded of this, but to be fair, if we were listened to sooner, some of us wouldn’t be in this position in the first place!
If there’s one charity that you really take note of this year, please let it be Make2ndsCount.
The incredible team are taking us places! Imagine having more research into secondaries so that your cancer could be treated as a long term illness, rather than an inevitable death sentence!
If you’re climbing a mountain or doing a cake sale, a fun run or a sponsored bungee jump, do it for the 31 of us that will die today and tomorrow and every day going forward until something changes
Donate or read more here: https://www.make2ndscount.co.uk/
Product Of The Week
Obsessed is an understatement when I tell you how Cricut has literally changed my life. My small business ( www.fightypants.com ) is THRIVING thanks to the absolute dream that is the Cricut Maker 3. Have a look what I’ve been making here:
I honestly cannot believe ho simple it is to use AND how easy it is to turn it into a business or a hobby! There might possibly be a video tutorial coming up soon. Take care out there - check your boobs! For Cricut dreams, GO HERE
