CANCER SURVIVOR ANNMARIE’S ‘LITTLE MIRACLE’

After being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 21 she was told she wouldn’t be able to have children – but then little Pollyanna came along

ANNMARIE Bowen was the youngest Welsh woman to be diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. The shocking diagnosis came with the added devastation that it would be unlikely she would be able to have children.

Five years on, Annmarie has not only fought the disease but has given birth to a daughter, Pollyanna – whom she calls her “miracle” baby.

In 2011 Annmarie required very intense treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

This made the prospect of conceiving naturally and carrying her own child improbable.

Annmarie, then 21, was shocked when she received the devastating diagnosis.

Around 80% of women affect- ed are usually aged over 50.

Annmarie said the consultant told her she was the youngest patient he had ever encountered.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer after noticing a sharp, shooting pain in her right breast, which prompted her to visit her local GP.

She discovered “quite a large lump” and, at first, doctors didn’t think it could be breast cancer because of her age.

They initially thought it was just a cyst.

“They kept telling me there was nothing to worry about, but it was constantly at the back of my mind that it was something more than a said.

“I kept being moved to the bottom of the waiting list, but I was persistent and I kept phoning every few days.

“It’s worrying to think what might have happened if I hadn’t.”

Annmarie was referred to a breast clinic at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital two months later.

A mammogram and biopsy confirmed the cancer and she was diagnosed in May 2011.

Shortly after her diagnosis, Annmarie started chemotherapy which she described as the “hardest and scariest part” of the experience.

Annmarie, from Abertysswg, said: “For the second time that day my life fell to pieces in front of me. cyst,” Annmarie