‘KNOWLEDGE OF FIRST BATTLE WILL HELP ME BE CANCER WARRIOR’
Mum-of-four diagnosed with disease again 12 years on
A Mum-of-four is facing the fight of her life after she was diagnosed with breast cancer – for the second time.
Teaching assistant Patsy Parsons is now undergoing six gruelling chemotherapy infusions over 18 weeks.
The 44-year-old will then have a mastectomy followed by 12 Herceptin treatments.
She was previously diagnosed with stage three aggressive hormonal breast cancer in 2008 – and won a hard-fought battle to have reconstructive surgery on the NHS.
But Patsy was given the gutwrenching news the cancer had returned last December.
Patsy, from Chell, said: “I have taken the recurrence harder than my initial diagnosis, but the knowledge I gained the first time around has helped me to transition back to being a cancer warrior.
“Having to face cancer once is enough, but knowing the battle was never really won in the first place is very, very disheartening.
“I have lots of emotions and I have questioned many things. It took me years to build my confidence back up and now I’m having to do it all again.”
Patsy has chosen to ‘take control’ of her illness by shaving off all her hair. She raised more than £1,500 for the Pink Sisters and Misters – a charity supporting cancer patients and their families.
Samantha Taylor, who runs Taylor Made Beauty, sold raffle tickets with up to 45 donated prizes in a bid to raise money to get Patsy a custom-made wig.
More than £1,000 was raised within an hour.
Patsy added: “I am overwhelmed by the kindness of Samantha and the generosity of businesses that have all clubbed together and donated to raise funds for a wig for me.
“The community has really pulled together and made me smile and for that I will be forever grateful. I’ve now ordered a wig and I’m just waiting on delivery.
“My family and friends have been an incredible support. Knowing that they are there at the end of the phone day or
night has been a godsend. I am very grateful to the NHS and they work extremely hard on the cancer department. They deserve so much recognition. They are all angels in my eyes.”
Samantha, aged 31, said she was delighted to help Patsy.
She said: “She is a brilliant mum, wife and a fun and bubbly person.she couldn’t afford a wig as they’re £600 so I said ‘let me help you’ and I did. She can use the rest of the money for a little break away when she is better.”