A mum-of-two was given a second life-changing diagnosis in two years when she noticed that her legs started going numb.
Catherine Gokcen from Southport was first diagnosed with triple-negative primary breast cancer in autumn 2019 when she found a lump on her breast. Following the diagnosis, the 48-year-old underwent a single mastectomy as well as a lymph node clearance and chemotherapy.
After being given the all-clear, the college tutor rang the bell at the Marina Dalglish Unit in April 2020, but her and her family's "world came crashing down" when she went to the doctors with constant numbness in her legs. Catherine visited the doctor in June 2021 and was told she had secondary stage four metastatic cancer that had spread from her breast.
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The cancer was mainly in her spine, liver, hip and chest and had to be rushed into emergency surgery at the Walton Centre to remove tumours from her back before she became paralysed. Her primary cancer is triple-negative, which is a rare form and has meant that the forms of treatment have been narrow.
Almost a year on from the heartbreaking news, Catherine has been treated with three different types of chemotherapies and radiotherapy, with Catherine and her family hoping to shrink the incurable tumours. In April she was finally given a new form of treatment called Trodelvy which is a life-extending drug.
Catherine's daughter, Eve Gokcen, 21, told the ECHO : "Our world came crashing down because we found out she had secondary stage four metastatic cancer and that it had spread to a lot of places. We found out it was in her liver, spine, hip and her chest area. It was really scary.
"She needed an emergency operation because some of the tumours were pushing on her spine. Doctors even said if she hadn't had the operation that quickly then she could've become paralysed.
"That was almost a year ago now, she's had different chemotherapies but obviously, they need to see what works and what doesn't work and you have to wait to see if the scans show whether it's working. We're really grateful for the Marina Dalgsih centre and the Larks."
The marketing assistant has spoken about how proud she is of her mum. She said: "Honestly, it's really inspiring to have her as my mum. I am so proud to be her daughter.
"I see her everyday face this. It's not easy but I am so proud of her and how she's dealt with everything.
"Seeing her have cancer not just once but then seeing it come back viciously but she is such a strong person and we're all just so proud of her and happy we can be doing this all together as a family. All her friends are amazing as well, everyone just loves her so much."
Now, Eve along with Catherine's husband Neil, son Tom, sister Lisa, cousin Sarah, two nephews Will and Matt, and two friends Steve and Ryyan, will be jumping out of a plane for a skydive the day before Catherine turns 49 on October 8 to raise money for the Larks. The Larks is a charity for women living with breast cancer.
It offers services such as reiki, reflexology and treatments that are used to help and ease the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Additionally, hair and nail treatments are offered, along with an opportunity to share experiences with women in similar situations.
Neil Gokcen, co-owner of Birkdale Kitchen Company, told the ECHO: "She's touched so many people's lives and that's why so many people are willing to help. What's really quite tragic is that it's such a rare form of cancer and there's not the range of treatments out there.
"It's difficult to find the right treatment that will help as it's incurable but we're always looking for the cure if it's ever going to be found. The more the look and the more questions you ask then hopefully the more answers you'll get."
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