Sarah's story
Sarah's cancer experience
Sarah was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer a few days before her 40th birthday. She was inspired to fundraise for us after receiving support from her Macmillan nurse.
“I had constant pain on the side of my left boob and decided to go to the GP as it wasn’t going away. He told me it was most likely hormonal and that he couldn’t feel anything, but I wasn’t happy, so I asked him to refer me.
“My husband came with me to get the results. Because they had done a few biopsies when I was referred, I think deep down I was expecting it and therefore I wasn’t as shocked as my husband was.
“My treatment plan was chemo first. It was quite an aggressive chemo and I wasn’t prepared for how quickly my hair would start falling out. Following chemo I had a mastectomy and my lymph nodes removed. Three months later I had 15 sessions of radiotherapy. I decided to stay at work throughout my treatment and would often sit in the chemo chair responding to emails. It’s not the right thing for everyone but for me, it provided a distraction and something else to focus on.
“I don’t know what I was expecting from Macmillan, but my Macmillan nurse, Jill, was just wonderful. She came to every appointment with me and asked all the questions I couldn’t think of. She explained everything I didn’t understand. She was so knowledgeable and if she didn’t know the answer, she would go and find out.
“No matter what cancer you’ve got, no matter what stage you are at, Macmillan are there from day one."
Fundraising for Macmillan
After completing her treatment, Sarah took on the incredible challenge of climbing Machu Picchu with a group of people who had all been affected by cancer. She has also taken on many other fundraising activities including hosting a Coffee Morning at her workplace.
“Coffee Morning is something we do at work every year. We have quite a few keen bakers, so everyone loves getting involved.
"We had LOTS of cakes, cookies and fairy cakes - all Halloween themed as we held it near the holiday. A lot of employee kids got involved so we had lots of spiders and witches - it was really creative and, of course, delicious!
"Apart from how generous people were, I absolutely loved how many people got involved. Coffee Morning brings people together. It sends such a lovely message, and for such an important cause."
Including the money raised at her Coffee Morning, Sarah has raised over £7,000 for Macmillan.
Host a Coffee Morning
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