Breast cancer made me distrust my breasts, but I’ve used the experience to raise vital awareness

I was 47 with no family history of breast cancer. It came as a shock.

When I was diagnosed, the plan was already in place for me – lumpectomy, chemotherapy, then radiotherapy.

I went through the lumpectomy and started chemotherapy – which for me was relatively easy. I'd read stories about how awful chemotherapy can be, but that may not always be the case.

I didn’t get any notable side effects other than losing my hair and very low neutrophils. This led to a few delays, which really affected my wellbeing. I would get exceptionally upset.

During treatment I had 4 different chemotherapy drugs

I managed 4 rounds of EC, 11 rounds of paclitaxel (not 12), and 4 rounds of carboplatin. I also had and continue to have infusions of the bone strengthening drug Zometa.

Throughout these 5 months, I walked every day, I worked, I tried to carry on. I think because of this, my family and friends would say I was very determined.

I said from the day I was diagnosed, I wanted a bilateral mastectomy.

I no longer trusted my breasts. The surgery wasn’t required, but I needed to have it for my own mental health, and thankfully, my medical team supported me. I had this surgery in December 2023.

There were many times during my treatment when emotionally, I took a turn for the worse.

I made use of Breast Cancer Now to gather information

This was through the website, booklets and the helpline. A couple of months after I finished treatment, I attended a Moving Forward course which was brilliant.

It gave me the opportunity to speak with others who had gone through breast cancer treatment. I didn’t feel like I was on my own – trust me, going through cancer treatment is a lonely process, despite having lots of people around you.

I decided to hold an Afternoon Tea

I love Afternoon Tea foods like scones, cream, jam, strawberries and quiche! But funnily enough, not so much cake.

I wanted to get involved and decided to hold an Afternoon Tea at work. My team constantly checked in with me throughout my treatment. We’ve all been greatly affected by breast cancer, as sadly in 2023, one of our ex-colleagues died from secondary breast cancer.

Everyone was motivated to raise money, awareness and remember our friend

The team all brought in cakes and the school let us borrow a room. We publicised the event well, to make sure people knew when and where the tea was.

About 40 people came to our Afternoon Tea

We had lots of cakes which were decorated with Breast Cancer Now cake flags. We also had a raffle and I made and sold some small keyrings. Some people donated bigger amounts and took a box of cake home with them.

We had cash donations, and I also set up a JustGiving page. With JustGiving, you can create your own QR code, so I did that and displayed it around the event.

Everyone loved it

My colleagues and everyone who attended really enjoyed the day. My highlight was remembering our friend.

As well as fundraising, I handed out some of Breast Cancer Now’s leaflets. I’m a big believer that we need to raise awareness of breast cancer, and my Afternoon Tea was a brilliant opportunity to do this.