JOANNE AIMS TO PUT THE BOOT INTO CANCER
JOANNE AND HER TEAM DRESS TO IMPRESS IN THEIR BIGGEST GAME YET
Brave football coach Joanne Burke is back on the pitch after a battle with cancer - and she is determined to beat the disease at its own game.
Joanne’s world was turned upside down after being diagnosed with the disease in February aged just 32.
Support from family and friends kept her strong and it was an emotional moment when Joanne returned to training with Parkmoor Girls FC.
She was cheered on by her ten-year-old daughter Nicole Hawthorn, who is a proud member of the under-11 team.
Now Joanne and her football pals are swapping their traditional maroon and blue club colours for orange tutus and stripy socks to help with the Scottish launch of Stand Up To Cancer, which is a joint fundraising campaign with Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.
The team is tackling the ‘unpredictable dress up’ challenge, where supporters pay or get sponsored to wear something completely unexpected for a day at work, school or home to help raise funds.
Joanne, from Erskine, will complete treatment for breast cancer with radiotherapy sessions next month after enduring chemotherapy and surgery and she is sharing her remarkable story to boost awareness and inspire Scots to raise some cancer-crushing cash.
Joanne, 33, said:“I can’t begin to explain how lucky I actually feel.
“From the second I was told I had cancer I vowed I’d be cancer free for Christmas and that’s exactly where I am now. I haven’t cried.
“Around one-in-seven women will get breast cancer in their lifetime so right from the start I decided I was glad to be that statistic. If it was me who was that one in seven then hopefully that meant the people I love the most would escape breast cancer.
“Some amazing people have kept me smiling through it all. I started helping out with football coaching when my daughter joined the Parkmoor team and it’s great to be back with them all again.
“When it comes to cancer, there can’t be any bystanders. We’re proud to pull up our socks, kick off the fundraising effort and proudly shout‘Let’s beat cancer at its own game’”.
Joanne vividly recalls her uncertainty at the start of this year when she first found a lump in her right breast.
She had become more body conscious after losing weight and knew it was important to get the lump checked out.
After a biopsy and mammogram at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Joanne was told on February 28 that she had cancer.
She says sharing the news with her partner Alastair Hawthorn, 51, as well as her mum and sisters was tough.
To help Nicole understand what cancer meant, Joanne bought the comic book Medikidz Explain Breast Cancer, which is designed for children.
Joanne explained:“I was open and honest with Nicole right from the word go.
“There’s no point in trying to hide anything from her as she’s too switched on. Nicole is an independent wee soul and I was blown away by how she handled everything.
“Very soon, Nicole was saying things like‘I can make my own packed lunch for school mum if you’re tired’.
“She even offered to take the dog out for a walk.
“Nicole was determined to help me. My partner Alastair was amazing too. His mindset was very matter of fact. It was like‘Right, this has happened and we’ll get through it together.’”
When Joanne’s hair started falling out after the first chemotherapy treatment in April, Alastair helped shave the rest off.
Joanne, an operations manager for G4s Secure Solutions, had six chemotherapy treatments in total at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow.
She said her workmates have been brilliant and raised £3,909 for Cancer Research UK in her honour by taking part in Race for Life Glasgow in May.
After a family holiday in Cyprus this summer, Joanne had surgery to remove what remained of the tumour on August 28.
She now takes the breast cancer drug Herceptin every three weeks and will start radiotherapy treatment next month.