Breast Cancer Care Fashion Show - 7th October 2004

I, and 15 other breast cancer survivors from Scotland, were selected to model at a fund-raising event in Glasgow, organised by the leading UK charity "Breast Cancer Care". The event consisted of two sessions, one at lunchtime and one in the evening, hosted by Scottish celebrities Elaine C Smith, who is famous for her character in the show "Rac C Nesbitt", and Dougie Donnelly, BBC Sports Presenter. Both shows were a sell-out and around 1000 people attended. This event raised almost £100,000 for the charity.

• Click here to go to my Yahoo Photo Album.
• Click here to view the article published in the Sunday Mail on 17th October 2004

Press Releases - May, August & September 2004

This year, for the very first time, I had the unique opportunity to tell my story nationwide by appearing in a number of press articles. This was a very enjoyable and liberating experience, and I hope that it helped to show a different side of cancer and treatment choices.

• Click here for article in Sunday Magazine (News of the World) on 26th September 2004.
• Click here for article in Sunday Mail on 1st August 2004.
• Click here for article in Sunday Mail on 30th May 2004.

July 2005

"What you cannot avoid, welcome."
(Chinese Proverb)

If you read my story throughout, you will know that I was waiting for an implant to "fill out" the lost tissue in my right breast. After numerous tests since last November, namely a mammogram, MRI scan, ultrasounds and "mammotome biopsy" (ouch!!), my surgeon and I were confident that my remaining tissue was healthy, and that we could place an implant underneath it, much as you would in a normal breast-augmentation cosmetic procedure. The mammotome biopsy (click and hold down Shift key to open in separate window), which is done under local anaesthetic and involves taking several samples with a drill-head like probe, had left me with severe bruising and a golf ball sized haematoma, which took several months to dissolve. Finally, after having been postponed a couple of times, I was set to have my surgery in early May.

A week before the due date my surgeon Mike, ever so thorough, decided to take one final look at me with the ultrasound; lo and behold! Another shadow, and yes, another cancer!! You will be used to the tune by now: Grade 3, unrelated to the others, brand new tumour. So, frustrating as it seems, I had to have it out and the implant could not be done at that time. I took this setback as I had the others, calm and resolute, and waited patiently. Unfortunately, the results of the pathology report showed that the rest of my tissue contained pre-cancerous cells and that it would be a matter of months before I developed further cancers.

It was the end of the road for my right breast: I had quite simply, run out of tissue. Within the month that followed, my reaction went from a cool and rational evaluation of the situation, to blind rage at my body for cornering me thus, bereft of options, to primal sorrow at losing a part of my body I had struggled for so long to keep. However, July came and so did the mastectomy. My breast tissue was removed but the skin and nipple were preserved, and an "implant/tissue-expander" (click and hold down Shift key to open in separate window) placed under my chest muscle. This type of implant is permanent, consisting of a front chamber of silicone gel and a back chamber filled with saline solution. The implant is injected with saline over a period of several months, until the muscle and skin have stretched enough to match the other breast. This operation was much worse than the nine lumpectomies I had over the past 11 years, and required me to have a couple of drains for three days. I felt like a mutant laboratory rat but I didn't spend too much time in hospital, and was discharged on the fourth day.

As the implant tugged and stretched, the thought of recovering much of my former glory kept me cheerful and patient. I was glad that I did not put myself through all this when I still had the choice to opt for lumpectomies, but now that the inevitable had come, I thanked my lucky star to have been born at a time when cosmetic surgery can counteract the ravages of breast cancer, and allow women to hold on to their body-image and self-esteem.

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