Lisburn woman shares her health journey as she becomes the face of charity’s breast cancer awareness campaign

Transcript

00:00My name is Cara and I was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 33 years old. Last June it was

00:08just a normal summer's day. I had just finished breastfeeding my daughter Sienna and was jumping

00:13into the bath to get ready for a girls night out. I was washing under my arm when I felt the lump.

00:18I was referred to the Ulster Hospital by my GP and five weeks later after an ultrasound and a

00:24biopsy the consultant was confident the lump was benign and nothing to worry about. It was around

00:29this time I had also found out I was pregnant again. We were so excited me and my husband had

00:36always wanted kids who were close in age and couldn't wait to tell our family. Through all

00:40of the excitement of the baby news I realised it had been over two weeks since my appointment and

00:45I hadn't got a letter from the hospital with my results. I gave them a call and I was told they

00:50needed me to come back into the hospital. That's when a bit of panic set in. Why did they want to

00:55see me if it was nothing? I was in the waiting room with my mum and when I was called by a cancer nurse

01:02I knew something was wrong. The consultant came in and sat beside me holding my hand. When I heard

01:09the words breast cancer all I could think of was my daughter an unborn baby. I was just so numb.

01:16It just didn't feel real. I'm a healthy woman in my early 30s. I have so many plans for me and my

01:25family's future it felt like it was all taken away in an instant. I was diagnosed with grade 3 triple

01:32negative breast cancer which is known as an aggressive form of breast cancer. I told the

01:37consultant I was pregnant and I was referred for an early scan even though there were no signs of

01:43miscarriage. We were told we had lost the baby. Hearing those words no heartbeat was so painful.

01:51I was already trying to deal with the cancer diagnosis and now I was navigating the loss of

01:56my baby. I tried to focus on what I could control and remember just how lucky I was to have my daughter

02:02Sienna. Three weeks after my diagnosis I had my surgery to remove the lung but before starting chemo

02:12and radiotherapy the most important thing to me was to get my eggs frozen. Throughout my whole cancer

02:17journey I was so worried about the fact all my treatment would have on my fertility. I was only 33

02:24and I didn't want cancer to take away my chance to grow my family like I'd always dreamed of.

02:30I started my first round of chemo at the end of October last year. I think there's this idea that

02:35you'll look thin and frail when you're in the thick of treatment. Losing my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes

02:41was so tough for me to deal with. But I also gained two stone which I really wasn't expecting

02:48especially after having worked so hard to lose my pregnancy weight after having Sienna only a year

02:53before. It was like losing my identity all over again. I didn't recognize myself when I looked in

03:00the mirror anymore. I finished my treatment in March this year and now I just want to focus on me

03:06eating better, moving my body and avoiding stress. Having breast cancer has really opened my eyes.

03:13Everything can change in an instant. Being able to talk about all my fears, worries and concerns with

03:19someone outside of my family was a game changer. I don't know what I would have done without cancer

03:24focus and I. Life is so precious. I am still so young and I want to travel to new places and run a

03:32marathon. My bucket list is long and I just want to start ticking things off. But for now it's

03:39appreciating everything I already have.