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-year-old 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.
“So on VE day we were out in the garden and [my family] cut my hair into this bob.
“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.
“You lose your nasal hair which means you constantly have a runny nose and you lose your hair down there.
“Then you lose your eyebrows and your eyelashes, everything that defines you.
“It means everything feels a bit tender. Even my nails peeled off.
“Your clothes don’t look the same on you anymore and you just look so different – I used to have long hair dyed brown and now it’s grown back grey.”
But hair loss wasn’t the unpleasant symptom she faced.
“Every part of your body aches: your toes, your hips and even your teeth.
“You’d either be sick or feel sick after the treatments and you’re left with a really metallic taste in your mouth all the time.
“I’d have to drink really strong squash or eat really spicy food because otherwise I couldn’t taste it.
“You’d be aching everywhere one evening and then wake up and maybe feel a bit better each day until you go back for another cycle.
“Then you have it again and it’s like, ‘here we go again.’”
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.
“I’ve seen that cancer referrals are down because of the pandemic, people are afraid to go when they have lumps or bumps or coughs or aches, but it is absolutely imperative that you get symptoms checked out,” she said.
“Women should not be afraid to regularly check their boobs because it could save your only 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
I’m really looking forward to seeing the rest of my family and friends – it’s the start of the next chapter in my book
Lynne Phillips
The most distressing part was losing my hair. 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 Marie Curie nurse Lynne Phillips
she could work from home.
She said: “Normally I’m a front line worker and I would have been there in patients’ houses and all of a sudden I was working behind a desk at home, so when the pandemic hit I wasn’t able to get out there and it was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t support my colleagues. But I still had a lot of work to do at home. It was beneficial to me because I could still do my role from home as I wasn’t able to go out.
“It meant I could still actually feel part of a team and felt like I was contributing to the effort in looking after our terminally ill palliative patients during the pandemic.
“It gave me a focus and a distraction. It was so important to me to still be contributing. I think knowing that we’ve got such an amazing, dedicated team, who are out there putting their lives at risk every day that it gives you that inspiration to want to contribute in the only way I could, albeit from home in my little office.” 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.
“But just before my surgery we had a woman referred to us in her early 50s and she had breast cancer which had come back and I remember thinking ‘that could have been me,’ and if I hadn’t insisted that the doctor send me for a referral before Christmas it could have been a lot different.”
Though her job does mean she knew what to expect in terms of treatment, nothing could have prepared her for having to face battling breast cancer in a global pandemic, which entailed going to appointments alone and going long periods of time without seeing close family and friends.
She said: “My husband was allowed to come with me for my first appointment in February, but since then I’ve had to go in alone. You get dropped off and have to do all these appointments and treatments alone. With chemo you’re in there for a good few hours while they pump the drugs through you. My husband would have to go to Asda and do the shopping, or wait in the car for me. It’s a bit nerve-racking not having that support, and for them they can’t really see what you’ve had done either.
“Lockdown has made [the process at home] difficult in many ways. Not being able to see some people who are really important to me has been hard.
My eldest son and daughter don’t live with me so I haven’t been able to see them, unless we’ve had [lockdown] breaks and we can go on a walk.
“But for the most part I haven’t been allowed out because I’ve been shielding. My mum lives in Cardiff and I haven’t seen much of my dad so that’s been very difficult.
“And my friends of course, I have one friend who has been through the same thing and I ring her for reassurance about what I’m feeling.
“But then lockdown has also given me the benefit of not missing out on the things I would have done otherwise. There haven’t been any friend or family gatherings that I’ve had to miss out on.”
Lynne said her family and work colleagues at Marie Curie had been “amazing” while she’s been unwell. She said she’s made the most of phone calls to colleagues and speaking openly to her youngest children while she works from home.
“My husband and I have eight children between us and some of them are grown up, so they’re not all living with us, but there’s never been a dull moment at home in lockdown,” she said.
“My youngest two are 16 and 21 and they live at home with me. I had to stay strong for them – I didn’t want them to be afraid so I was very open with them and let them have a feel of my lump and would encourage them to ask different questions. They’ve been great.
“Work was fantastic, I was able to book annual leave for when I had my chemotherapy and they were really accommodating and then I’d be back working.
“We’ve been keeping in contact a lot through phone calls and emails so I still feel busy and part of it.”
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 year: 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.
She said: “I had that mammogram scan in February this year, but it wasn’t clear enough so I had to have a magnified one.
“I still hadn’t heard anything back over a number of weeks and that was scary because it gave me more time to wonder if it was bad news and the cancer was still there. However, I had the all-clear! It’s been a huge relief for us all, I’ve had a cry and a jump about.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the rest of my family and friends – it’s the start of the next chapter in my book.”
Lynne is now calling on people to support Marie Curie’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal in March.
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
THE Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Equalities Minister has apologised for an eight-year-old Facebook post in which she regretted the fact that it was illegal to shoot “Chavs”.
Laura Anne Jones also joked about shooting the then Labour leader Ed Miliband.
On her Facebook page, Ms Jones posted a photograph of what could be her aiming a sports rifle.
In response to a friend who sent her a message asking: “Shooting plebs?”, Ms Jones wrote: “I would like to do a spot of Chav shooting, Tom – such a shame that isn’t legal.”
Responding to another friend, she posted a further message which said: “I am sure I would become the perfect shot, Brendan if I had ol’ Red Ed to aim at.”
During his time as Labour leader (2010-15), Mr Miliband was dubbed “Red Ed” by right-wing newspapers.
A reader who drew Ms Jones’ comments to our attention said: “These comments are hardly appropriate for a Shadow Equalities Minister.”
A Welsh Conservative source said: “I can’t understand why people put this kind of thing in writing on a public platform. Do they do it when they’ve been drinking? It doesn’t make sense.”
Ms Jones said: “I apologise for this post that was made on my personal Facebook page nearly 10 years ago.
“I do not condone the use of violence in any form, and my flippant use of language was unacceptable and inappropriate, which I deeply regret.
“They do not represent me, or my views, and I’m very sorry for any offence I have caused.”
Ms Jones, who was born in Newport and brought up in Monmouthshire, is a regional MS representing South Wales East, and returned to the Senedd last year following the death of MS Mohammed Asghar.
She previously sat as an Assembly Member for the same region between 2003 and 2007, and was subsequently a Monmouthshire county councillor.
In one of her speeches about equality in the Senedd, she stated: “What is social justice? To me, social justice is providing equality of opportunity— providing people with the opportunities and the freedom to make the best choices so that they and their families can live the best possible lives.
“Social justice is the narrowing of the gap in wealth, justice, governance and opportunity.”
Ms Jones has been re-selected to stand in the top position on her party’s South Wales East regional list for the Senedd election in May.
In his 2012 book Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, the journalist Owen Jones wrote: “In modern Britain, the working class has become an object of fear and ridicule.
“From Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard to the demonization of Jade Goody, media and politicians alike dismiss as feckless, criminalized and ignorant a vast, underprivileged swathe of society whose members have become stereotyped by one, hate-filled word: chavs.”
A CHEATING boyfriend strangled a woman and broke into her home after failing to accept the end of their relationship, a court heard.
Jason Fluck, 32, also caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage to former partner Tara Stephens’ car, stole back a pair of shoes worth £700, and bombarded his ex with abusive texts and calls as a “means of making her life unbearable”.
On Friday Cardiff Crown Court heard how Fluck, from Wolverhampton, had been in a relationship with Ms Stephens, from Cardiff, as well as being in a longterm relationship with another woman in his home city.
When Ms Stephens found out about Fluck’s other relationship she tried to break up with him, leading to his twomonth spell of “revenge” against her that culminated in him forcing his way into her home.
Ieuan Bennett, prosecuting, said Fluck and Ms Stephens had spent a day out in Liverpool on September 7, 2020, when she discovered the defendant was in another relationship. She asked him to drive her back to her car in Wolverhampton straightaway.
But on the way back he pulled over and “put his hand around her throat and began to strangle her” until she recalled at one point she “stopped breathing”.
It was only by sending friends an “SOS message” that the incident came to an end, with Ms Stephens telling a friend to call the police if she didn’t return to Cardiff. “She obviously feared being able to get to Cardiff that day,” Mr Bennett said.
Following the break-up it was heard Fluck went on to make “repeated and unwarranted” phone calls and texts to Ms Stephens telling her to “return to him” otherwise he would come to her house.
The court heard that on October 14 Ms Stephens returned to her Adamsdown home when she saw a figure “jump over the garden wall right behind her”.
Ms Stephens tried to stop the defendant, who was wearing a mask and hoodie, from entering her home but fell to the ground during the struggle while he went upstairs. She was left with “extensive” bruising to her leg.
Eventually he made away with a bag and a pair of shoes worth £700 that he had bought her during their relationship – not specified in the hearing but listed in the charge as being made by designer Christian Louboutin – before warning Ms Stephens “she had another surprise coming” and that “he was never leaving her life”.
During the final incident on October 22 Mr Bennett said Ms Stephens had been at home at around 10.30pm when she heard a noise outside by her Range Rover Evoque. Fluck was seen pouring a type of white substance on the car bonnet, thought to be used for causing damage to
car paint, before attempting to pour something into the fuel tank and slashing two tyres. In total the damage resulted in a repair bill of £6,174.38.
Summarising the defendant’s previous convictions, Mr Bennett said Fluck had received a 15-month sentence in 2007 for two offences of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
On March 26, 2009, the defendant went on to receive a seven-year sentence for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
In a hearing in Wolverhampton Crown Court it was heard Fluck had fired a sawnoff shotgun at a car carrying members of a rival gang, having knifed two men from the same gang during the 2007 offence.
At the time the Birmingham Post reported how Judge Anwar Nawaz said the incident “resembled a scene from a film but it was all too real”.
During Friday’s hearing, Samantha Powis, mitigating, described Fluck’s guilty pleas at the magistrates’ court as an indication of the defendant’s remorse and regret.
Ms Powis stressed that Fluck’s previous offences had taken place a long time ago when the defendant was still a teenager and said he had sought to put that lifestyle behind him to become a “respectable member of the community” with a strong work ethic.
Addressing the offences at the end of last year, Mr Powis said Fluck had attempted to “have his cake and eat it” with two relationships and said his actions were in response to the circumstances he found himself in.
She added: “There has been absolutely no history of domestic violence or issues in this defendant’s life at all. He and his long-standing partner are working at the moment towards putting their relationship back together.”
Fluck, of Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to stalking, burglary, attempting to destroy a Range Rover, and two counts of assault by beating.
Judge Christopher Vosper said Fluck had burgled Ms Stephen’s house as an “act of revenge and as a means of making her life unbearable”.
In total Fluck was jailed for two years, half of which will be served in custody, and made the subject of a restraining order forbidding him from contacting Ms Stephens for 10 years.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse visit the Live Fear Free website or call the helpline on 0808 80 10 800.