Lauren up for challenge after cancer battle
MUM GETS ON HER BIKE TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR VITAL RESEARCH
A MOTHER-OF-TWO from Bingham, who was left physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted after facing breast cancer, says her experience has given her a newfound sense of adventure.
Lauren Blackamore, who lives with daughters Jasmine, 7 and Emmie, 5, said she has learnt to make the most of the time she has been given, after going through the shock that life can change in an instant. And to play her part in supporting research, she has signed up for Cancer Research UK’S Cycle 300 fundraising event. The 36-yearold had always been fit, active, and focused, setting herself personal physical challenges such as running 1000km in a year along-utterly side working for credit reporting company Experian.
However, she had been aware of a niggling pea-sized lump in her left breast and after months of trying to put it to the back of her mind she decided to mention it to her GP. At the end of 2017 she was referred to the Nottingham Breast Institute, but scans revealed nothing abnormal.
“A year or so later, I decided to go back to the doctors. I’d lost a lot of weight and put that down to diet and exercise, but the lump had changed slightly in size,” said Lauren.
In March 2019 she had more scans and was surprised when doctors took a biopsy at her appointment but felt relieved that she would find out what the mysterious lump was.
“The bit that sticks most in my head from that day was that the consultant pressed that I shouldn’t come to the results appointment on my own. They booked it for a couple of days later and my mum came with me. When I got to the Breast Institute, I was ushered relatively quickly into a room and a few minutes later two women appeared and introduced themselves as a surgeon and a breast care nurse. At that point I knew it was bad and I didn’t need to hear the news they gave me: ‘I’m sorry the biopsy has shown that you have breast cancer.’
“Nothing prepares you for those words and I broke down in tears. Ringing my dad and telling him was devastating.”
“That was the beginning of a whirlwind of information, decisions, tests and appointments. The nurse advised me to think urgently about whether I wanted more children because of the impact of treatment on fertility. I was also offered DNA testing to see if I had the faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
“It was a lot to take in and I left that appointment realising the impact the diagnosis would have on everyone around me.”
Three weeks after Lauren’s diagnosis surgeons removed four tumours and carried out a partial breast reconstruction using tissue from her underarm. They also removed a lymph node to establish whether the cancer had spread.
“I was very lucky that it hadn’t got that far and so my consultant took the decision that chemotherapy wasn’t necessary. Hearing those words felt like winning the lottery and in June 2019 I started five and a half weeks of daily radiotherapy.
“I was really positive but by the end it was really draining and I was wiped out.
“I rang the bell on 18th July 2019 which was an incredible feeling and I honestly thought ‘things can only get better.’ In reality itwasn’t that simple. Two weeks later I hit a really bad place and struggled to get out of bed.”
Lauren had always turned to running as a way of looking after her mental health but the fatigue she was experiencing as a result of her treatment left her with little energy to exercise.
“I came to the realisation that I needed to turn a terrible, unlucky, unthinkable situation into something good, so I bought a road bike.”
Having fully regained her fitness, Lauren and her partner recently climbed Snowdon, took part in The Yorkshire 3 Peaks and completed the 100km Peak District Ultra challenge last month.
Lauren has signed up to Cancer Research UK’S Cycle 300 challenge to ride 300 miles throughout September with daughters Jasmine and Emmie occasionally riding alongside her.
Lauren added: “Since having cancer I’ve been passionate about helping raise awareness, raising funds and supporting others who face the same battles.”
In Nottingham around 1,300 people are diagnosed with cancer every year.
Nicki Embleton, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Nottingham, said: “This past year proves, more than any other, the value of investing in science and medical research, and what can be achieved together. The progress we make relies on every hour of research, every pound raised and everyone who gets involved.”
Join the challenge and receive a free fundraising pack at cruk.org/ cycle300.
Lauren’s fundraising page can be found at https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/laurens-cycle300-giving-page-1