My Story
In July, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two small tumours were picked up during a routine mammogram which I hadn't felt during my own usual routine checking. A few scary weeks followed where we went through the process of waiting biopsy results to see which kind of pathology the cancer cells had. Yes, there are different types of breast cancer. On 1st August, I had some localised surgery, including removal of 4 lymph nodes to see if there had been any spread to other parts of my body. Thankfully, due to it being an early detection through screening, there was no spread. I've been recovering really from surgery and building my strength back up with walking. I can't get back to running yet, nor can do any weight bearing strength exercises on my upper body and left arm due to the lymph node removal. Annoying cos I'd really begun to love strength training! But I'll be able to soon, I hope. I now await radiotherapy which will be 23rd October for 5 consecutive days. I will then be treated with endocrine therapy as my cancer is receptive to oestrogen and this therapy will keep my oestrogen levels low to prevent any recurrence. The reason I explain this in all this detail is that Cancer Research has been instrumental in every stage of this process. From the development of mammograms, to the understanding of the various pathologies of breast cancer, to the enhancements in radiotherapy allowing mine to only last 5 days to the ongoing endocrine therapies like Tamoxifen and Letrozole which have transformed recurrence and survival rates for women (and some men who are affected by breast cancer too) all over the world. So, I can't quite climb Everest (yet!) but I have decided to take this small challenge on throughout October, including my radiotherapy week. It'd be great if you could sponsor me but if you're not able to, maybe nudge a pal who can. It is a charity you can be confident makes excellent use of your funds and has transformed the lives of many ordinary folks like me. Funding supports something as big as a new research centre down to the small glass slides that are used to analyse cancer cells. So no amount is too small. Thank you, Gill PS This photo is 3 days after surgery after a little half mile walk.
