JEN

In November 2021, after spotting a lump near my right boob, I was diagnosed with primary breast cancer. At this point I thought my world had come to an end and that this was the worst thing that could possibly happen to me. Little did I know that the worst was yet to come. Five weeks later, in December 2021, I was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer (SBC). In my case, my cancer had metastasised to my bones (lower spine). I was 45 years old I have 2 children, who were aged 8 and 13 at the time.

There was no family history. I am not a smoker. I do not drink to excess. I am not over-weight and I exercise regularly.

This was a complete shock!

Two days after my diagnosis, I started with the first of 6 rounds of chemotherapy. I then moved onto 3 x weekly phesgo (pertuzumab/trastuzumab) injections and 12 x weekly denosumab injections. I have these at home with a Christie Nurse.  Currently, my cancer is being kept ‘at bay’, but as a SBC patient, I know there is no curing this. Recurrence is inevitable. As all SBC patients know only too well, the statistics do not make for a good read.

Cancer has changed every aspect of my life, without exception. From the moisturiser I put on my face, to my friendship groups and to my whole outlook on life. There is no getting away from it, my life is totally different now. 

However, whilst the fear of reoccurrence dominates my thoughts, I am determined to not let this be ‘it’. As a wise person once said (I'm not sure who?!), this is a chapter of my life and not the whole story. 

So, in the past 2 years, I have run my first marathon, run my fourth half marathon and I've been a 'Maggies model'. I've continued to travel (one of my favourite things) visiting Las Vegas, Milan, New York and Canada. Fortunately, I have been able to continue working (mainly to pay for the holidays!) which gives me time to feel like the 'old me'. It has also proved to be a good distraction.  

I am determined to not let this crappy situation be the thing that people remember about me but most importantly, I want my children to see that life is for living, regardless of your situation, keep going and do more things that make you happy! 

I am both thrilled and honoured to be part of the BOOBEE campaign.  SBC is massively under-funded (only 7% of National breast cancer funding goes towards SBC) and I would like to be part of something that helps to change that.  Selfishly, I hope that by raising awareness and money, at worst, the clever scientists will find further ways of giving us extra time with our families. At best, dare we dream they find a cure in my life time? I really hope so.