Lesley's story

"My friends & family have given me unwavering support....that's what's got me through"

I have been living with secondary breast cancer since September 2005.....19 1⁄2 years. I was diagnosed with de novo secondary breast cancer at the age of 32: Estrogen -, Progesterone +, HER2 +.

I had metastases in my liver and bones. I had only been married for five years and we had a 16 month old son. I, initially, had 6 cycles of Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide. This was followed by 12 weeks of Taxol and Herceptin together. Taxol was part of a clinical trial. I was the first person in my hospital to receive Herceptin. After eight weeks of this regime, all the mets were gone as was the tumour in my breast. After the 12 weeks of Taxol and Herceptin, I continued, and still continue to this day, to receive Herceptin, every three weeks, intravenously. However, there were calcifications in my breast so it was decided that I would have a mastectomy as, at the time, no one was sure of the relevance of the
calcifications. I had the mastectomy in July 2006.

In November 2006, I had both ovaries removed so I could have Letrozole. I started Letrozole in January 2007. I also received Zometa for the bone mets but I am no longer on this as it caused stress fractures. In short, I have been receiving Herceptin since February 2006, Letrozole since January 2007.

I am a radiographer and continued to work until September 2016 but I have medical retirement now. That has been a bit of an adjustment as I am no longer fit enough to do the job I loved.

I try to live as “normal” a life as I can. This doesn’t mean Carpe Diem.....that’s not sustainable! But I try to take lots of opportunities. I love going to see live bands. I have travelled extensively since my diagnosis too, including Australia and the USA. Last year I even went to Japan. I feel very grateful to have been able to make lots of memories with my family and friends. I am also delighted to see the holiday insurance industry changing to provide cover for secondary breast cancer.

Secondary breast cancer has been such a long part of my life now, that it is my “normal”. There was nothing for me when I was first diagnosed. There was limited information and no relevant support groups specifically for living with secondaries. I was very lucky that I had amazing family and friends, who gave me their unwavering support and that is what got me through. I really want my story to give hope to people who have this disease. It has been incredible to see that there is now so much more support available and more specialised treatments and care. But there is still more to do though to have secondary breast cancer recognised and understood more, and that is why I support Make 2nds Count.