Despite having no family history of the disease, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40 in September 2022.
When I found a lump, my GP and breast consultant reassured me it was likely benign and nothing to worry about. That said, they decided to be extra vigilant and do an ultrasound.
After my first biopsy came back inconclusive, I was called back for a further three biopsies before a text message called me in for a meeting with the breast consultant.
By this point, there was no avoiding the fact that there was a problem. With my husband by my side, doctors broke the news that I had grade 3, estrogen-receptive breast cancer.
This diagnosis meant the grade of my tumour was the fastest growing it could be and was fueled by estrogen.
My diagnosis sparked a treatment plan that involved a lumpectomy, 12 weeks of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy to shut down my ovaries and kick-start medical menopause aimed to stop estrogen in its tracks.
I am now awaiting ovary and tube removal and have just started two further years of daily oral chemotherapy, which manages my future risk of recurrence, something I am high risk for.
My plan is gruelling, but I am currently cancer-free, and my prognosis is good because it was caught early.
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My journey has been all the more hard because five months before I was diagnosed, I lost my wonderful friend Emily to stage 4 breast cancer.
My journey has been all the more hard because five months before I was diagnosed, I lost my wonderful friend Emily to stage 4 breast cancer.
She should have had the same prognosis as me and I will forever be devastated that her story wasn’t the same as mine.
But it is because of her that I feel so passionate about early diagnosis and I will always be absolutely grateful that I found my lump when I did.
Turning lemons into lemonade
A large part of turning my lemons into lemonade was applying for the Coppafeel Coppatrek in the Alps at the start of this year.
I applied just after my first round of chemo as my hair started to shed and my energy levels dwindled, knowing it would be an absolute battle to get myself back to fitness and health. But in light of managing my future risk, I knew this was more important than ever.
Coppafeel’s mission is to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis in young women and to know the signs of breast cancer, to ensure action is taken early for a good prognosis. Their annual trek sees 120 women and men fundraising to support Coppafeel in this mission, and I felt so honoured to be accepted to play a part in something that meant so much to me.
Challenges on the hike
The hardest part for me on the run-up to the hike was undoubtedly the fitness.
While I have dogs and walk regularly, I have never been a hiker and have never walked more than a few hours.
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My fitness was the worst it had been (thank you chemo) and I was still some way away from being able to start training.
However, I knew my mindset would carry me through and that there was absolutely no way I wouldn’t complete the task.
Training for the trek
Once I finished radiotherapy in June of this year, I had three months to start building up my fitness.
This started with walking up the lane by our house and gradually increased to HIIT classes and five-hour hikes with friends.
Even up until the trek, a day of intense exercise would see me asleep on the sofa for a good few hours or crawling into my bed at 8 pm with the kids. I was so nervous about my stamina and desperate not to let anyone down.
Setting off for the hike
Our celebrity team leader was TOWIE's Pete Wicks and we were put in a group of 30 hikers to tackle the hike in the Alps.
Led by Pete, we went up into the mountains, found the most beautiful spot above the clouds and shared our reasons as to why were on the trek.
We all sat with tears streaming down our faces as we talked about friends and family we’d lost to breast cancer, our own experiences of the disease. Some of my fellow hikers were on treatment for breast cancer for life and wanted to prove to themselves that they could ‘do hard things’.
Pete pulled us together as a team, allowed us our moment to grieve and told us we were now a family, and we would be there for each other during that week to support one another no matter what.
He explained that we would start and finish this trek together and when we got up and hugged each other, it created a bond among us that I'd never experienced before.
Suddenly the fitness didn’t matter - we were all playing such an important part in each other's journey and we were doing it together. We shared stories, we laughed and we cried (a lot).
The end of the trek
On the last day, we sat around and shared words about what the experience meant to each of us - healing, unmissable, empowering were the standouts.
Giovanni Fletcher, who is Patron of Coppafeel, explained through tears on the first day the profound impact walking alongside people just talking and sharing their stories would have on us all. Ater the first day, the rest of us could fully relate.
To walk with people who had been through the same experience as me and truly understood, who were walking the same footsteps as our dear friend Emily, as well as speaking to those who had lost loved ones to answer questions and hold their hands, was beyond healing for me.
Before this experience I felt I was always trying to be positive for my family, my children, my friends and my colleagues, so to shed the pretense and be real about my feelings for a week felt liberating.
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It made me feel freer than ever and reassess how invaluable it is to carve out space for me to simply be, without trying to put any bravado on.
While my breast cancer journey continues, my outlook has completely changed.
I am beyond grateful for the last year. It led me to these people and this experience has forever altered me. It's been a week since I returned home and I will never forget the people who I now consider family. My heart is happy.