"How do you tell your child that you're dying?" asks Katie Barson, a single mum from Mansfield who was recently told she had two years to live after her breast cancer returned. The 35-year-old, who is yet to tell her 12-year-old daughter Freya the heart-wrenching news, gave permission to Nottinghamshire Live to share her story to raise awareness.
"I haven't got time to be sick, I haven't got time to die," said Ms Barson, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2020, just before the first lockdown during the Covid pandemic. "Everything had to be attended alone, it was a very tricky time to be diagnosed with cancer," she recalled.
Following surgery and rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she was told last December that she was going into remission. However, after experiencing pain in her shoulder and chest in September, she went back for a check-up.
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Ms Barson was dealt the devastating news that she had triple negative breast cancer last week, with a prognosis of two years. "I was gobsmacked, to be honest. I was not in any way expecting to be told that," she said.
"I'm still in shock, I don't know what to think. I'm a single working mum - I haven't got time to be sick, I haven't got time to die. I can't afford to be off sick." The mum, who works as an assistant practitioner at a GP surgery, said all she could do now was think of Freya.
"She was a really good companion during lockdown. We could crack jokes and we laughed about the hair falling out and she shaved my head when the time came," she said. "She watched her mum go through cancer during lockdown - the thought of her losing someone is scary.
"How do you tell your child that you're dying? I have just told her it's come back. We don't know how long it's going to give me, how long is a piece of string? We need to go out and make memories. We sat down and wrote a bucket list made of lots of places we want to go to together."
On that list are places such as Disneyland Paris and a theme park, as well as activities like indoor skydiving, a concert and a show in London. "It's memories she wants to make with me, now is the time to do that."
A fundraiser has been launched to help support Ms Barson and ensure she can tick places off the list. Her cousin, Julia Williams, started the GoFundMe page which has already helped raise more than £1,200.
She described Ms Barson as "so, so brave". "She's handled it a lot better than I think I would," said the 38-year-old sales rep.
"She's kind and caring and quite a quiet person. She's a very calm and gentle soul who would do anything to help anyone, that's why I thought I should make the fundraiser. She's always the one helping other people out. It's a crying shame, a crying, crying shame."
Ms Barson added: "I think it's incredible the people that have helped me. It feels so bizarre that people want to help me. I can't believe how kind people are and how much people want to help." To visit the fundraiser, click here.
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