What cancer were you diagnosed with?

oestrogen positive Stage 4 Grade 3 breast cancer

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What age were you diagnosed?

33

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What has helped you to thrive?

I’m truly thankful that I have some treatment options and I’ll be keeping my positive pants on that it keeps my pesky cancer at bay! I will welcome the medically induced menopause with open arms if it means it starves the cancer and gives me longer!

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Natalie-Ann's Story

Hi, my names Natalie, 35 from Warrington. Mum to two beautiful boys George (7) and Henry (6) and Cat mum to Janet and Eddie.

It all started in March 2019. I banged my right breast getting my boys bikes out of the car after a trip to the park. That evening it was hurting and a little swollen where I had banged it. I found a pea sized lump in the shower so immediately went to the Doctors the following day. I was sent home with antibiotics as it was believed to be mastitis (I hadn’t breast fed for 4 years at this point.) A week later I was back and given more antibiotics but I had a nigly feeling that something wasn’t right, so I used my private medical through work and was diagnosed with an oestrogen positive, Stage 2b Grade 3 breast cancer with no lymph node involvement. I had two local wide incisions which got all of the cancer and then I had adjuvent chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy and tamoxifen.

Fast forward to May 2020, I noticed after a run I was really hurting in my left groin - it felt muscular so I rested up for a few weeks and when it wasn’t getting better I rang the doctors. They sent me for a pelvic scan (not bone) which showed up some cysts on my ovaries - Que the Panic after I was sent for a CA125 test for ovarian cancer. It came back high due to the Tamoxifen so I was taken off of this for 2 months and rescanned and all was clear. Phew!!

My groin had started to feel a lot better so we assumed it was achyness from the Tamoxifen with a running injury added into the mix. Over the course of the next few months my pain got so bad I could no longer run and by October I was using some old crutches as couldn’t weight bear. I finally got a CT scan early November which confirmed I had a pathological break in the neck of my femur caused by the breast cancer returning in my pelvis! I was given this information by phone. Sat at the kitchen table my whole world came down on me. I was now Stage 4 with incurable cancer at age 35!

I was immediately told to get to A&E who would be expecting me as I needed to get off my broken hip. After an extensive MRI and more X-Rays it was confirmed I needed a new hip and that there were extensive bone mets to my pelvis and a small deposit on my lower back. Also some lung mets! I spent the next 2 days on a cocktail of meds to keep me calm until I had my surgery on the Sunday morning! I was consumed with worry, how long? What about my boys? They are so young!

I snapped out of it when I had a plan in place! New hip, followed by Zoladex injections to shut my ovaries down, denosunab to strengthen my bones, Letrozole and Palbo oral chemotherapy tablets! I also have had 6 sessions of radiotherapy.

I’m currently 3 weeks post surgery and the new hip is amazing! It’s nice not to have any pain in my hip. I’m also 3 weeks in to my injections and 1 week in to chemo. I worked through my primary diagnosis but this time I have decided to take the time out.

I have hope after reading so many positive stories - I want to be around for as long as possible for my boys, my family and my partner. It’s not time for clocking out yet!

I’d love to meet other people in similar scenarios - nobody truly knows what you endure as a Cancer patient other than a fellow person with cancer.