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Breast cancer brought us together
By Sarah Johnson But up until that day last February Ruth, from Northern Ireland, and Loraine, from Glasgow, had never met. They were brought together by the Breast Cancer Care peer support telephone service a year after both being diagnosed. Ruth (46) explains, “In January 2008 I was feeling low due to the side effects of medication and spoke to one of the specialist nurses at BCC. “I explained living in the countryside left me sometimes feeling isolated and I’d love to talk to people my own age who’d experienced breast cancer. Support group “They arranged for me to join a peer support telephone group. Each Tuesday morning for six weeks several of us, including Loraine, from around the UK ‘met’ for an hour-long chat with someone from BCC and a nurse. “During those conversations we talked about our concerns, the highs and lows of the week. We laughed, we cried, asked the nurse questions and shared our experiences. “Afterwards BCC gave us the opportunity to stay in touch. Loraine and I struck up a rapport and have been friends ever since. There’s a real bond between us.” Despite never meeting, Ruth and mum-of-two Loraine (49) regularly chatted on the phone. During one conversation Loraine told Ruth she was planning a trip to Rome with friends from Glasgow and asked her to join them. They finally met two months ago. Humour “I’d never seen a photo of Loraine,” recalls Ruth, “but I recognised her straight away. “It’s unlikely we’d have met had it not been for having breast cancer and the charity. “Loraine is a remarkable person and I feel privileged to have met her. She has a fabulous sense of humour.” Humour, Ruth says, is found in the unlikeliest places. “The night after my surgery at Belfast City Hospital the charge nurse had to come to tell the ward to stop laughing because we were disturbing other patients,” she recalls. “We were all coming to terms with a diagnosis but we could still laugh.” Laughter may be good medicine — but when it comes to dealing with a diagnosis so is being fully informed, which is where Breast Cancer Care is invaluable. “The morning after I was diagnosed I woke up with hundreds of questions and turned to Breast Cancer Care online. Huge relief “It was a huge relief to discover a one-stop source of reliable information and support. “You may not have any say over having breast cancer but you can feel in control of your own treatment, and thanks to BCC I was able to go along to every meeting with my consultants feeling informed about my options, something I believe is so important.” Ruth was diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer three weeks before Christmas in 2006. “I’d no lump, no reason to be concerned, but after my father died from cancer in 2004 I decided to have mammograms every two years until I was eligible for NHS breast cancer screening at 50. “I was shocked to receive a letter a week after my mammogram at Action Cancer Belfast telling me I needed to go to a Breast Clinic for further checks. “Without a lump, I thought there’d probably be a benign explanation for the abnormality and didn’t even ask anyone to go with me to my appointment, so I received the diagnosis alone.” Invasive lobular breast cancer is uncommon, affecting between 10 and 15 per cent of all women with the disease. ‘Miraculous’ Ruth didn’t need chemotherapy because the cancer was caught early enough, something she describes as “miraculous”. “Lobular breast cancer can be difficult to detect so I feel incredibly lucky it was discovered so soon. In my opinion women over 40 should be given the option of a mammogram.” Ruth, from County Fermanagh, has nothing but praise for Breast Cancer Care. “After I was diagnosed they put me in touch with a Peer Volunteer in Scotland who’d had a similar type of surgery two years previously. “We spoke just twice — once before surgery, once after. I don’t remember her name but those conversations were so important to me. “I could ask this stranger anything about her experience and recovery and she would answer honestly and reassure me things would get better. She was right.” Now Ruth has decided to take part in the Pink Ribbonwalk at Scone Palace on May 15 with her friend Marie Lynch, who she met in Belfast City Hospital where they shared a ward. Idea And while she was in Rome she started discussing the idea with Loraine and her friends. Ruth says, “Since then three of Loraine’s friends have joined the team and Loraine, though she’s not walking, has taken control as our fund-raising co-ordinator. “The Northern Brights, as we’re known, are an eclectic mix of Northern Irish and Scottish,” laughs Ruth, who’s hosting a “decadent” pink afternoon tea later this month to raise sponsorship. Loraine and five friends are organising a Pink Party Disco on May 2 at Montford House Bar in Glasgow. “Breast Cancer Care was there for Loraine and me when we needed support and we want to help others benefit from the invaluable help it gives. “I don’t talk about my diagnosis often but I feel it’s important to say that, out of this huge challenge that is breast cancer, good things can happen. “And my friendships with Marie and Loraine prove that.”
For more information visit www.pinkribbonwalk.org.uk or tel. 0870 145 0101.
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