Survivor Rebecca’s message of cancer hope
Every 10 minutes in the UK, somebody is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Someone who has been through treatment for the disease is Rebecca Older, a Maidstonebased fitness instructor who was diagnosed in 2014, after finding a lump in her breast.
She has spoken out about her experience as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Pink Ribbon Campaign.
Although the original findings were that the cancer was contained, unfortunately Miss Older was later told it had spread to her lymph nodes.
“Originally, I just had my breast removed and thought that would be the only procedure, but once the doctors found the cancer had spread, I was advised to have chemotherapy,” she explained.
“Chemo was very, very scary. I didn’t cope with that particularly well at the beginning, but I came to realise there’s other people there going through it with you, and it’s part of what you need to do to make yourself better.”
Three years down the line, Miss Older is keen to pass on a positive message about her experience.
She said: “It’s awful news, you feel like you’re being told you’re going to die.
“But plenty of people don’t, and I think when people deal with it in a positive way that positivity rubs off on the people around them.
“I had an amazing support network and I couldn’t have done it without them.
“I also often find people don’t know how to act around people who’ve been diagnosed.
“I think talking about it is the best thing you can do, because it’s not just the people who’ve had the diagnosis who have to deal with it; it’s everyone who knows them and loves them.”
The 49- year- old, who runs classes across Maidstone, Sittingbourne, and Gillingham, is now a frequent fundraiser, most notably for Macmillan Cancer Support and the Peggy Wood Breast Centre at Maidstone Hospital.
To mark the Pink Ribbon anniversary, Breast Cancer Care is calling on people to hold a Big Pink fundraiser to raise awareness and vital funds. Get your free Big Pink kit, including a pink ribbon, at breastcancercare. org.uk/October