Cancer all-clear a new start for nurse who had tough lockdown
WHEN Covid-19 hit, Lynne Phillips should have been working on the front line helping some of Wales’ sickest patients.
But instead, the 48-yearold mum found herself confined to her own home and shielding because of a breast cancer diagnosis in February 2020.
The Marie Curie nurse from Porthcawl is now urging people to get symptoms checked out straightaway despite the ongoing pandemic.
A year since her diagnosis, Lynne has opened up about going alone to appointments and being unable to see her loved ones as she shielded during lockdown, as well as working from home while dealing with the harsh symptoms of her cancer treatment.
Lynne first noticed something was wrong just before Christmas 2019 when she felt a small lump and soreness in her breast and went to her GP.
“I was told it was nothing to worry about and she would refer me after Christmas, but I just kind of sat there and she could tell by my face I wasn’t happy so she did the referral then,” she said.
“I had my appointment at the breast clinic in Neath Port Talbot, where I had a consultation, mammogram and a biopsy. That was in early February.
“When [ my husband and I] walked out we just had the kind of feeling that something was up, because they did the biopsy and everything there and then. When I first walked in, I thought it might have been a cyst – which is very common – and that they’d just have to get rid of it and then that would be it. Then we were thinking about my age and other factors like that.”
She said that when she went back for her results the following week, doctors confirmed her fears.
“They said it was a very small tumour and that they would have to do surgery to remove it and the chances were that I was going to have to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy,” said Lynne.
“When you’re told something like that, you do worry about what’s going to happen and just think ‘ Oh my God, I haven’t done this and I haven’t done that’, but I felt very reassured by the doctors, they know what they’re doing. I got the feeling it was treatable
“My cancer was hormonal based, so there was too much oestrogen and it was feeding off that – I had to have my coil removed.”
In March, Lynne had surgery to remove her lump, but it didn’t go quite as successfully as they hoped. It was the start of a year filled with various treatments as she came to terms with her diagnosis.
She said: “When I went back for the results after the surgery I was told they hadn’t quite got it all and that I would need a full lumpectomy so they took my lymph nodes out about six weeks after the first operation.
“So from there, it was down the road of chemotherapy which you have every three weeks – I ended up having six cycles altogether. You just about recover from the first lot and then you go into the next lot and each time you’re that little more depleted and that went on right through the summer.”
For Lynne, chemotherapy was the most difficult part of her diagnosis because of all the unwelcome physical symptoms it brought with it.
“The most distressing part was losing my hair,” she said. “I’ve always had really long hair.
“They warn you about it, but then it actually starts coming out after you’ve had chemo. By that, I mean you run your hands through it and it’s very distressing. It’s all coming out on your pillow, your clothes, anywhere. I just thought, I’ve got to take control of this, I can’t just let it all fall out. Then a few days later I had more chemo again and we just shaved it all off.
“But you don’t just lose the hair on your head, you lose it everywhere.”
But however ill she felt during treatment, she knew it was exactly what she needed to give her the best possible chance of survival.
She said she knows lots of people who are scared to go for mammograms or put off having symptoms checked out because they fear catching coronavirus in a hospital setting.
“Women should not be afraid to regularly check their boobs because it could save your life. It’s so important to be open and honest with these things to your GP as well as family and friends.”
Chemotherapy meant Lynne was immune suppressed and had to shield, so rather then working alongside district nurses and patients during the pandemic, she set up a desk so she could work from home.
As part of Lynne’s treatment plan, she underwent a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before getting a one-year scan to see if the cancer had gone.
Last Tuesday Lynne and her family finally got the news they had been so desperate to hear: she had the all-clear. She said she was elated to hear those words, even though the waiting time between her scan and results was terrifying.
Because of her vast knowledge and experience working alongside terminally ill cancer patients, Lynne said she found it easier to process the logistical side of her diagnosis than others maybe would, but that it made it very real for her. “I co-ordinate the palliative care that goes out to our terminally ill patients in the Swansea, Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot area,” she said.
“We work alongside district nurses so I was still able to do that from home.
“I suppose I’m fortunate having some sort of medical background – I know what the processes are and what to expect from that perspective.”
During the appeal the first annual National Day of Reflection will take place. Anyone can join Marie Curie on March 23 for a day to reflect on and commemorate this last year’s tragic loss of life. To find out more visit mariecurie.org.uk