Why We Do What We Do - Part III
"I wanted to stay Emma, I wanted to stay myself, to feel as much myself as I could."
This story has been told to us by Emma, a mum to four boys and a kindergarten administrator.
This is Emma’s very personal experience of cancer and highlights the importance of why we do what we do and why it is vital that we continue to fund and support the cancer research and clinical trials that can change lives.
In September 2023, Emma found a lump in her left breast. A visit to the GP resulted in a hospital referral where a mammogram, biopsy and ultrasound resulted in a diagnosis of invasive lobular breast cancer.
The first treatment was a lumpectomy, but the procedure did not result in clear margins, the cancer had spread to one of her lymph nodes.
A full auxiliary node clearance followed, and a sample was sent away for Oncotype Scoring. This is a test to determine how worthwhile it would be for Emma to receive chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, the results were “on the cusp”, Emma told us. They simply couldn't say if chemotherapy would be of benefit, so the treatment was the recommended course of action.
Four rounds of EC chemotherapy – the red devil as it is known – followed. Emma tried the cold cap treatment, however the tablets that are given as part of this procedure made her feel terrible and so she stopped the cold cap after three rounds of EC.
After the EC chemotherapy came twelve rounds of Paclitaxel (another chemotherapy drug) before radiotherapy began.
This ended a year to the day of Emma’s first operation and she is now on the follow up drugs Tamoxifen and Olaparib.
As far as Emma is aware she is the first in her family to have breast cancer (or any cancer) so “it was a bolt out of the blue.”
Emma continues, “If someone had said to me a few years ago ‘you’re going to get breast cancer’ or any cancer, I thought that I would become a quivering wreck and be very tearful.
“I’m quite an emotional person, I used to cry when my children did school plays, all that kind of thing! I was a bit known for my crying! But when I got a cancer diagnosis, somehow I went into a kind of action mode. ‘Right, let’s do this’.
“People have told me I was very positive, I don’t know if I particularly felt very positive, but I was just focussed on the principle of ‘let’s get on with it, let’s get rid of it’. I couldn’t see the point of being any other way.
“I worked as much as I could, I wanted to stay Emma, I wanted to stay myself, to feel as much myself as I could.
“Work kept me sane. My boss was amazing, they were very flexible. I made a few mistakes with my ‘chemo-brain’ but everyone at work was very patient.
“I had the odd ‘woe is me’ moment – two particular occasions I remember – before my first chemo I was very scared but the nurses were fantastic and after my second chemo I had a bit of a cry.
“Nevertheless, I stayed fairly positive. After the mastectomy, around day three, I had a ‘why me’ moment but you pull yourself out and get on with it.
“I have not reacted the way I thought I would, and because I’ve stayed fairly upbeat, I think my family have as well. My kids have been amazing.
“When I was first diagnosed there was quite a lot of dark humour, we laughed a lot, which I guess is better than crying. My friends have been brilliant as well.
“It’s been as positive as it can be, I guess.
“While chemo is brutal, I lost my hair and felt sick, what the nurses said to me stayed with me and I’ve said it to other people since – there is no reason to feel sick and be vomiting all the time, not with the medication they have these days. I was advised to take the medication before I felt sick and it really helped.
“The nurses were beyond amazing, they become like your best friends, they are special people. They pull you through, they keep you going.”
Hope Against Cancer is extremely grateful to Emma for speaking to us about her experience with cancer. Such stories really bring home the importance of working towards improved treatments and helping more people to overcome cancer.
