KISS THIS, CANCER!
Mary
‘Kiss this cancer, I’m still here’
“I’m going to start by telling you my breast cancer is incurable. There’s no easy way to say it. But, I’m still here for my husband and children. I’m still fighting fit.
“I was at peak physical fitness when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was working as a personal trainer – which I still do. Cancer wasn’t going to stop that for me. I didn’t think it was the kind of thing that happened to people that stay healthy, so naturally I was shocked. I think everyone is, aren’t they?
“It was August 2007, and I had gone to the doctor after finding a lump in my breast. Obviously at that point you’re in total denial.
"Fast forward to September and I was having a mastectomy on my right side, and all my lymph nodes removed. Then I had to tackle chemotherapy – it was horrendous. But I was determined that my son and daughters were going to have a Mum way into the future.
“I’m so grateful for the seven years in which I was well, after all that treatment. But then I found out that the cancer had come back and had spread to my chest wall and collarbone area. When breast cancer spreads, they call it secondary breast cancer. That means it’s incurable. I had to tell my children that. All I could think of was the moments I was going to miss, the memories I’d be missing from.
“Little did I know that in January of this year I’d receive my third diagnosis. It’s now in my bones and liver. Heartbroken and scared are understatements. My treatments are different again but I’m still alive and kicking and most importantly, hoping to help change the face of breast cancer.
“I’m still here, still fighting, surviving. As a personal trainer, I’m still kicking other people into shape, while fighting cancer. I’m still here to tell my story, so kiss this, cancer.”
