Cradling my daughter Liberty, I gazed at her wide blue eyes, blonde locks and cheeky smile. It was 29 December 2015 and, while 18-month-old Liberty looked like me, the person she resembled most was my mum Jane, who’d been a real ball of energy with the kindest nature.
Tragically, they’d never got to meet because Mum had died of breast cancer, aged 56, in 2002, when I was 27, which had left me feeling lost and alone for years.
Thankfully, that changed when Liberty arrived, in June 2014. Raising her as a single parent, we were inseparable and she’d toddle after me wherever I went. I still did a nightly breastfeed, which neither of us wanted to give up. Only now, as I adjusted my bra after feeding Liberty, I froze when my fingertips grazed the outline of a lump in my right breast.
PREVIOUS SCARES
I’d had two previous breast cancer scares, aged 21 and 31, with lumps that had turned out to be benign, but this felt different. Tucking Liberty into bed, I thought: ‘Is this third time unlucky?’
Unable to see my GP over Christmas, I found a breast cancer specialist based at a private hospital in Nottinghamshire, two hours’ drive from my home in Shrewsbury.
I had the initial appointment on 30 December 2015 and, on 6 January 2016, the results brought the worst news imaginable. ‘It’s cancer,’ the specialist said, gently, and I sobbed with despair that history was repeating itself.
As the specialist explained I’d need surgery and chemotherapy, I just seemed to go into autopilot thinking about Liberty. The thought of leaving her without a mum was unfathomable. I needed urgent treatment and was so worried about dying. I had no idea who would look after her, and I was determined to survive.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 26, 2024 من WOMAN'S OWN.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 26, 2024 من WOMAN'S OWN.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
FAST & THRIFTY DINNERS
Filling family meals to save you time and money
ARE VIRAL FITNESS TRENDS WORTH THE HYPE?
Keen to know if the workouts she sees online can actually make her fitter, Rachel Tompkins, 44, gives them a try
GO OUT OF SEASON
While some European cities seem to go into hibernation over winter, others just get better in the colder months
MY LIFE IN MUSIC
Monica Cafferky, 55, reveals how certain tunes bring back special memories
THE DECISION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
After trying diets without success, Breanne Concannon, 31, was left feeling hopeless
MY TOY ΒΟΥ KEEPS ME YOUNG
For Trish Hughes, 44, the thrills of being married to a man 20 years younger is worth all the judgement
'THAT'S NOT MY BABY'
Lying in the hospital bed, my husband Michael had tears of happiness in his eyes as he showed me a photo on his phone. 'Here she is,' he said proudly. 'This is our beautiful baby girl.'I stared at the photo and shook my head. 'No, that's not my baby,' I said. 'There must be a mistake.'It was August 2010 and I'd not long before had an emergency caesarean. I'd not had a chance to see Winnie when she arrived as she'd been whisked away for tests because she was nearly two months premature.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Hayley, 45, has her son to thank for crucial evidence
'I'D LOVE TO DO EASTENDERS'
Loose Women's Linda Robson on the daytime show, dating and her next career move
Beckhams INSIDE THEIR PROPERTY EMPIRE
We take a look at the power couple's posh pads
