Sheffield mum recalls moment she realised she had breast cancer - and how she battled back

And now, after being told she is clear of the illness, she is planning a major fundraiser to repay a charity which helped her during the dark days of her treatment.

Kirsty, from Millhouses, is a mum of two and stepmum of one, who runs a nursery in Mexborough. She had just launched a play cafe when she noticed her symptoms in October 2020. She found a thickened area of tissue in her breast.

“I knew straight away”, the 49-year-old said. “It wasn’t so much a lump, as an area of thickened tissue that I hadn’t noticed before. After a sleepless night, I went to the GP who referred me straight away for assessment. Within three weeks I was diagnosed with stage three, grade three breast cancer, which had also spread to my lymph nodes. It was a huge shock to all of us.”

Chemotherapy

Kirsty was advised to have six rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the tumour and then surgery to remove the breast tumour and lymph nodes. Her chemotherapy lasted 18 weeks during which Kirsty struggled with side effects of feeling nauseous, exhaustion and hair loss.

“The first operation to remove the tumour took place in April 2021, as the UK was still under Covid restrictions. That made a bad situation so much worse as I couldn’t have anyone with me for my surgery,” she said.

“The surgery seemed to go well. However, I ended up being recalled twice for further surgery as tests revealed that the surgery hadn’t removed enough healthy tissue surrounding the cancerous tissue – this is known as ‘clear margin’.

“During my surgery, it was revealed that I had two different kinds of tumour – one a fast growing one that had responded well to chemotherapy and another grade one tumour that was slow growing and tricky to remove.”

Five surgeries in seven weeks

Kirsty ended up having five surgeries in seven weeks including a quadrantectomy, which is a partial mastectomy which removes around a quarter of the breast. Then 15 rounds of radiotherapy followed - all undertaken alone due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“Obviously this was all incredibly challenging for us as a family. My cancer had turned everything upside down for all of us really. In addition, the girls’ schools had closed during the pandemic and I was trying to home school through my chemo and surgeries. To say things were hard would be an understatement!

“I’d approached Cavendish during my chemo to see if any support was available for the girls. Like all mums, I didn’t really think about myself, I just wanted support for them. After an assessment, both girls had a course of art therapy which was absolutely the right thing. It was all virtual due to Covid however the team at Cavendish were so creative with how it was delivered.

“I was also signposted to some of the online courses – I did the anxiety course and the nutrition course. Both were life- changing for me and gave me back an element of control that I didn’t have during any other part of my treatment.”

Cancer free

Kirsty is now cancer free but is still feeling the effect of her treatment both physically and mentally.

She has just finished a course of Abemaciclib, a drug which inhibits cancer growth. She continues to struggle with tiredness, the effects of medically induced menopause and symptoms of lymphoedema. Despite this, she is feeling positive about the future.

She said: “I’ve reduced the amount of stress in my life now and I’m getting in training for a big fundraising challenge I’m undertaking for Cavendish Cancer Care later on this year. I was really keen to give something back to Cavendish after all the help they gave me. I really appreciated the ‘whole family approach’ at Cavendish and the fact the service is so local. I like being part of the Cavendish family and I know I could get help again if I needed it. I’d recommend Cavendish to anyone - I don t think there’s any other place where they support the whole family like this.”

In October Kirsty will be undertaking a trek along the Inca Trail in Peru, including the famous Machu Picchu, alongside her sister, Emma; her nephew, Aaron and his friend, Charlie.

Kirsty, Emma Aaron will all be raising money for Cavendish Cancer Care so that even more people can receive support just like Kirsty and her family did.

They have been training in the Peak District’s hills. Between them the foursome are hoping to raise over £17,000 for Cavendish Cancer Care and mental health charity Mind.

Wiggleberry nursery, Mexborough

Kirsty, who runs Wiggleberry nursery in Mexborough, said; “This is such a huge challenge for me, especially as I’m still feeling the after-effects of my cancer treatment and some days are a struggle. However, it’s great to know that every penny I raise could help other people who are struggling with cancer too. The support I received from Cavendish Cancer Care was amazing and I want to give something back. I’m so looking forward to my challenge and hope people can spare some money to sponsor me in aid of a fantastic charity.”

Peak District based charity ‘Challenge Cancer through Adventure’ have covered some of the costs of Kirsty’s travel and equipment for her adventure, meaning more of the money she raises can go directly to Cavendish Cancer Care.

You can sponsor her here.