Emma Fisher: Battling Sheffield woman with incurable illness is face of Adidas campaign for Breast Cancer Now

But things took a worrying turn when she suffered an injury on the slopes.

Breaking her sternum in a fall, she went for treatment for her injury – but when doctors examined her they found out breast cancer she had been under treatment for had spread – and become incurable.

But Emma, now aged 41, is refusing to let her illness stop her and has just been made the face of a campaign by the sports company Adidas because of the way she has continued to embrace the outdoor world despite her illness which is treatable, but not curable.

And her modelling job on the Strength in Nature collection campaign is raising money for the charity Breast Cancer Now.

Emma, from Nether Edge, was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in July 2016. But in February 2018, she was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, after her breast cancer spread to her bones and lymph nodes.

Emma, who works for an international tech firm, said: “My dog, Flash, found a painful lump in my breast. My GP assured me that painful lumps were not cancerous but unfortunately this turned out to be wrong. I had breast cancer.”

Emma had a lumpectomy, IVF, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Eight months after finishing treatment at Thornbury Hospital, in early 2018, Emma broke her sternum snowboarding in California.

This is how she discovered that her cancer had spread to her bones and in the lymph nodes around her chest.

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Emma has received treatment for secondary breast cancer, but after the first line of treatment stopped working, she moved onto a second line.

Unfortunately, after around a year of being on this line of treatment, her cancer began to grow again. As Emma’s tumours were growing close to her organs she has moved onto another line of treatment. She is also on a multitude of medications to keep the side effects of treatment at bay and said: “I also have a series of injections every month too, all to try and keep me alive for as long as possible.”

Speaking about taking part in the Strength in Nature campaign, Emma said: “Sometimes you just have to walk up a big hill to remember you’re alive, feel the cold wind on your face, laugh at your dogs, look around and think how grateful you are to still be able to get up that hill.

“I may be slower than I used to be. I may have to take ‘photo breaks’ sometimes. But I can still decide on a random sunny day I want to do it and go do it! And given everything my body has been through in the last five years, it feels miraculous that I can!

“I feel so honoured to be part of this campaign with Adidas and Breast Cancer Now, particularly as the outdoors has been such a huge support to me in my breast cancer journey. Thank you to everyone who chooses to support.”

Emma is one of three women selected to tell their stories in a new campaign for this October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The new global campaign ‘Strength in Nature’ has been launched in partnership with the charity Breast Cancer Now to help raise awareness of breast cancer and support the vital work carried out by the charity. Through telling their stories, these women share their experiences of finding strength in nature through their breast cancer diagnoses and how the outdoors got them through difficult times.

The Adidas Breast Cancer Awareness Collection brings together a range of footwear and apparel for running, hiking and mountain biking, with £15 from each full-price sale donated to Breast Cancer Now to fund its work providing support services.

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