The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Amberley’s important message
Ayoung Peterborough woman who is fighting terminal cancer has urged everyone to make sure they check for signs of the disease so it can be treated as quickly as possible
Amberley Kent (30) from Cardea, said she thought she was too young to get breast cancer when she was first diagnosed seven years ago.
But after beating the condition the first time, she has had the devastating news that it has returned, and this time there is no cure for it.
Amberley, who lost her mum to cancer in between her own two diagnosis, and has raised thousands of pounds for cancer research in the past, has now launched a Go Fund Me appeal. This is to help her make memories with her young nephews and nieces while she still can and she has also urged everyone to make sure they check for signs of cancer.
She said: “It is so important for people to know what ‘normal’ is for their body, and if anything is not right, or feels different, to go and get it checked out with a doctor as soon as possible.
“It could be the smallest of lumps, a change in colour of something, anything. You need to check regularly for changes.
“Early detection could make all the difference.”
Amberley’s first diagnosis came when she was just 23-years-old in 2017.
She said: “I was in the shower when I felt a lump on my breast. I thought it was just a cyst.
“I told my partner at the time, and he checked it. He said to go to the GP to get it checked out.
“The GP did an examination, and said that at my age, it was probably nothing to worry about, but I would need a scan.
“I went to the scan feeling quite positive. It took a couple of weeks for the results to come through and I just carried on as normal.
"Then I was told to come in to get the results. I was told it was cancer, and I just broke down.”
Following the initial diagnosis, Amberley underwent treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
But despite the intensive treatment, kind-hearted Amberley was desperate to help others.
She said: “It was really hard. I tried to keep positive. I did all I could to raise awareness.
“I didn’t think at my age I would get this, so I wanted to
get the message across that anyone can.
“I took part in the Wear It Pink campaign and was a model for them.
“I also held a charity ball, that raised £10,000 for Breast Cancer Now.”
Amberley finished her radiotherapy treatment in 2018 – but any joy was shortlived when her mum, Cathy’s diagnosis came through a week later.
Amberley said: “It was breast cancer, but a different type to what I had.
“She passed away five years ago – it was such a hard thing.
“She had taken such good care of me, and I looked after her. It was really tough.”
While Amberley had stopped radiotherapy in 2018, she got her latest devastating news earlier this year.
She said: “I had a really bad pain in my back.
“I thought I had pulled a muscle as I was moving house. But it got to the point where it was excruciating.
“I went to the doctors and I was checked out.
Then I got the news that the cancer had come back in my spine, and it was not curable.”
Amberley was told she had metastatic breast cancer, and told she might only have three to five years.
She said: “Everything I wanted from life, I wanted kids, I wanted to retire, to spend time with my nieces and nephews, it has all been taken away from me.
“So now I want to experience
everything I can whilst I still can.
“I want to make memories with my family, with my friends, because I realised with what happened to mum, that is what is important.
“I would love to experience all the amazing things life has to offer like travelling, getting married, taking my nieces and nephew out to make memories for them to keep when I’m gone.
“I just want my last few years to be the absolute best without worries and restraints because of bills, hospital visits and fears of not fitting everything in.
“We are really close as a family, and they have all rallied round.
“I have an amazing partner, an amazing dog.
“I have so many people I can rely on and who have helped.”
Amberley has to take tablets every day and has regular scans at Peterborough City Hospital.
She was full of praise
for the team at the hospital and said: “They are amazing. They have really opened their arms to me – they treat me like an extended part of their family.
“They treat me like a person, not a number.
“One of the side effects of the medication I am on is that I lose weight.
“One of the Macmillan nurses saw that and pushed for me to get into the gastro ward where I received amazing care for three weeks.
“I think the staff at the hospital deserve more recognition than they get.”
Anyone who would like to make a donation to Amberley’s Go Fund Me campaign can visit the website at: www.gofundme.com/f/amberley-experience-all-lifehas-to-offer-in-time
Anyone who would like more information from the National Health Service about a health check can visit www.nhs.uk/commonhealth-questions/lifestyle/ how-should-i-check-mybreasts