I need people more than ever. There’s nobody around to give me a cuddle
When Lisa Fleming was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, it was already too late.
“There was no primary diagnosis,” said Lisa, from Edinburgh. “I didn’t find a lump. It was only after I asked my GP to check out a stretch mark that I was sent for a scan.
“The scan showed cancer had eaten its way into every bone in my body, even my skull.
“By the time I was diagnosed, I had a broken neck and spine and had to undergo life-saving surgery.”
That was in May 2017. Since then, the 36-year-old has endured 14 surgeries and regular chemo. It’s gruelling but has helped Lisa, mum to Cameron, 7, outlive her initial bleak six-month prognosis.
“It’s almost three years later, but I’m still going strong,” she said.
“Like all cancer patients, I get on with life as much as I can.
“It has been a rough ride, and it has taken its toll on me physically and mentally, and my family, too.
“But now there’s coronavirus, and that’s terrifying for cancer patients like me who already don’t know how long they’re going to be here. Thankfully there doesn’t seem to be much change to my treatment for now, except for a spinal op being cancelled in recent weeks and a day of scans last week to save me as many visits to hospital.
“But this is the time I need people more than anything. And I can’t see my mum and dad, or my best friend who has been my rock during this journey.
“It’s isolating because I can’t meet up with fellow cancer patients. These meetings are like a lifeline. Sometimes it’s the small things that keep us going.
“On scan results day I have my family around me. This time I’ve had to do it alone on a call to my oncologist. Luckily, the results were stable but for all I know they could be calling to tell me my treatment has stopped working and there’s nothing else they can do for me, and nobody can give me a cuddle.”
Lisa, who set up the Make 2nds Count charity, which has raised more than £400,000 to fund research into secondary cancer, added: “The guidelines to stay at home are in place for a reason and the quicker people follow them, the sooner social distancing can be relaxed and people like me can leave our homes and live for the limited time we have left.”