‘I had to give up feeding my son overnight, which was traumatic’

ALYS

ALYS Courtney’s son was just six months old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was masked by her pregnancy.

Alys, 40, had given up on motherhood when she fell pregnant with Teddy at 38.

She enjoyed a fantastic six months with her baby until her nightmare began.

She said: “I was in the shower when I noticed a lump in my breast. I didn’t worry about it but I went to get it checked.

“I explained that I was breastfeeding and my GP wasn’t worried either.

“It was only when I got a referral to a specialist, in June last year, I was told it was cancer. I had to give up feeding my son overnight, which was really traumatic.

“Those early weeks are all a blur, I don’t remember them very well. Those utopian six months we’d shared had become an absolute nightmare.”

Alys started a course of chemotherapy and had a mastectomy on her right breast last month. She is still fighting the cancer and is undergoing radiotherapy but is thankful that the cancer hasn’t spread.

Alys, an NHS manager from Whitstable, Kent, added: “I was in such a state. Once you get a secondary diagnosis you just know it’s not curable. I kept chanting in my mind, please let me be Teddy’s mum.

“Cancer cheated me out of all the joy of being a new mum. It changed my relationship with him. There’s a lot of guilt that comes with it because you can’t be a hands-on fun mummy.

“There are some days when you’re not able to get out of bed. Sometimes it’s physical but it’s also psychological. You have to get up in the morning. What’s the point of being alive if you’re not going to live?”

And on Sinead’s storyline, Alys praised the soap for the way they’ve tackled the issue.

She said: “It’s important because people don’t expect this to happen to you during pregnancy or the first year of a baby’s life. But it does happen.

“The lump in my breast was big enough that it had been there for some time and probably during my pregnancy.

“Your boobs completely change during pregnancy and when you’re breastfeeding, they’re full of lumps and bumps so you’re not looking for it.”

Alys has been documenting her journey in a blog. Readers can check it out by going to www.bestalys.com