Covid blow for mum battling breast cancer
A mum being treated for breast cancer has been dealt a fresh blow after receiving a Covid diagnosis despite being double vaccinated.
Steff Lynch, 32, was given the devastating news that she had stage 1 grade 2 breast cancer just four days before last Christmas.
The loving mum-of-two, from Prestwick, has used her social media platform - with over 17,000 followers on Instagram to raise awareness around early detection and urges women to check their breasts.
She has now made another plea - this time urging people to continue washing their hands, even when they are vaccinated, for as long as the pandemic continues.
Steff’s husband James and seven-year-old son Joshua have also tested positive.
The parents were both fasttracked for vaccinations due to Steff’s immune system being vulnerable as she undergoes gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, and received their second dose of the AstraZeneca jab at the beginning of May from their GP.
However, the couple have been left stunned to learn they have now tested positive, after initially thinking they had
picked up a bug from their one-year-old son Jonah, who had recently been unwell with a chest infection.
After two positive lateral flow tests last week, the results of a PCR test last Friday confirmed they had contracted Covid.
The couple began to feel unwell around Tuesday last week with cold-like symptoms but Steff’s health began to deteriorate and, by the Saturday, they had called an ambulance as her temperature
began to soar.
James, 33, said: “On Saturday morning she was really struggling with her breathing and was a bit disorientated and was soaked in sweat.”
Paramedics arrived at the family’s home and prescribed steroids and antibiotics for Steff.
The mum has now had to postpone a week of chemotherapy treatment while she self-isolates and tries to recover from the virus.
In a video to her followers,
Steff, who owns Dermalounge and Studio by Dermalounge in Prestwick, said: “I actually can’t believe this is happening.”
She also urged people to “please keep washing your hands after touching everything”.
James, who works for Heineken, said: “The reason we got our vaccines quicker was because of circumstances and we definitely felt relief that we’d had it. It gave us a bit of comfort and peace of mind, I think.
“Steff has six weeks of chemo left, so we will try to just lay low.
“It’s not like we’ve been out and about, but we will be taking a step back again and realise that there’s still so much happening out there and there’s still loads of cases.”
While they don’t know what strain of the virus they have contracted, the couple suspects it may be the more infectious Delta variant, with James commenting that “it’s taken us a year to catch it”.
He said. “It’s certainly taken us by surprise at how unwell we’ve felt. I think a lot of people think when they get the vaccine they think they can’t catch it or don’t get symptoms.
“We knew we could still catch it, but didn’t think we’d be as ill, so I can only imagine if we didn’t have the vaccines we could potentially be a lot worse.”
I actually can’t believe this is happening. Please keep washing your hands