I’ve always been an optimistic person in life and quite a competitive person, but this was a real wake up call for me. It’s really changed my life massively. I was actually sitting at work I felt something, and it was like a bump, a lump, and, I mentioned it to my friend and she said, Denise, you need to go and get that checked out. 

I went to see the breast cancer unit, and I had my screening and, got told that I had breast cancer on Christmas Eve 2015, I remember going outside and, just crying, my friend, hugging me, we were both hugging each other. I said, I've got cancer, I did think about like that might be it. You know, I might die. 

Yeah. I did take an integrated approach to having cancer. Now, I was already actually running, I was doing pilates at the time as well. I had already had some CBT therapy, talking therapy training, which for me personally really, really helped me because that teaches you to kind of flip your thoughts over and to not go down rabbit holes and dark places. 

Hi Heather Hi Heather how are you? Hello sis. I'm good. Thanks. How are you? Oh, I'm really good. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I thought I'd just give you a call and catch up with you, see how it's all going. Oh, it's all good, all busy, all good.

I felt a bit helpless because I was all the way over here, because I just wanted to give you big hug- just got in the car and drove up yeah. What you did for me, just meant the world to me. And I really, really appreciate that of you. You know, you and the girls. You're my sister. I know Heather and you’re my little sister. Oh, I'm the baby of the family. You are the baby of the family. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. See you. Bye bye. Bye. 

Reading about other people's survival gave me lots of hope and I found other support groups, like minded women, which really, really helped me. There are apps, you know, around now and particularly, By Your Side app, it's like a one stop shop. You know, there's so many different life experiences of people, so many different cancer charities, information about nutrition, everything all in one place.

When I had my first operation, which was on World Cancer Day 2016, I remember, thinking, please help, you know, please. Hopefully I'm going to be okay. This gentleman really, really reassured me that I was going to be okay and then I remember actually coming out and opening my eyes in recovery. And the first thing I did was touch my, my left breast, and it felt really compact, so small.  But I can tell you the relief was, the relief was amazing. I had radiotherapy and, went back to the hospital and they told me that I was, in remission of cancer.

Right, shall we go this way. When I come up here, I think, you know, I'm free of cancer. I'm free. And that's I think I celebrate that up on that hill. Really. Just after finishing radiotherapy and leaving Mount Vernon, I just realised that I wanted to create awareness and be really more of a patient advocate. 

And I've written a little self-help guide, which I hope will help others. Indeed. I worked with the school on some fundraising. I learned that in that school that health awareness and prevention wasn’t in the national curriculum and we campaigned for health prevention awareness in PSHE.

I think the biggest thing for me, was really the recurrence of cancer, I kind of compartmentalised it, I think is in the back of my mind, but I don't think about it all the time. I laugh, I'm happy and just enjoy life and grasped everything I possibly can to, you know, make the best of every day, really? 

I take a moment to look up at the vibrant blue sky, smell the freshly cut green grass, stare at the trees proudly standing firmly in their roots. Fixed and tall just like me, you too can stand up to cancer. 

Yeah and it’s something that’s you know a memory, a good memory for me because I was done you know I was done and then the rest is history really.

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