Fiona shares her breast cancer treatment journey – from wearing a scalp cooler during chemotherapy, to having a positive mastectomy experience.
“In July 2022, I had a mammogram. Everything came back normal but a few months later, I found a lump in the upper part of my chest and near the surface of the skin – so I could feel it quite easily.”
“At first, I ignored it, as I assumed it was just a normal cyst and I’d only just had my mammogram. However, it became bigger and started to hurt, so I went back to the clinic and booked an ultrasound. They confirmed it wasn’t a cyst and took a biopsy.”
“I got the results a week later. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and referred to The Royal Marsden for chemotherapy. It was really hard to handle the news at first, I kept thinking, ‘why me?’ But The Royal Marsden helped enormously with keeping a positive attitude. The staff are all excellent, they’re kind, calm and professional – they reassured me so much.”
“The whole environment of the hospital is nurturing and positive, and more than anything – it is calm. I never sat up the night before chemotherapy treatment feeling like I was dreading it. I wanted the treatment to happen, because I knew that these drugs had the potential to rid me of the disease.”
“The first 10 minutes of wearing the scalp cooler always felt quite intense as it’s so icy cold but it then got more comfortable. I’m really glad I persisted with wearing it. It felt really comforting to look like myself while going through treatment.”
Scalp cooling to prevent hair loss
During her chemotherapy, Fiona wore a scalp cooler, which is a method of helping to prevent hair loss for patients during treatment by reducing blood flow to the scalp. For some patients, this can help to stop certain chemotherapy drugs from affecting the hair follicles.
“You wouldn’t think something like losing your hair is such a huge factor to deal with while having cancer treatment, as you’re having to cope with much bigger worries and concerns. But it really does make a difference being able to keep your hair.”
“I used the scalp cooler all the way through my chemotherapy and am so grateful that I was able to keep about 70% of my hair.”
“The first ten minutes of wearing the scalp cooler always felt quite intense as it’s so icy cold but it then got more comfortable. I usually had it on for about five hours. I’m really glad I persisted with wearing it. It felt really comforting to look like myself while going through treatment and helped to manage the stress of a cancer diagnosis.”
“I’m so grateful to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity for having funded this equipment. My hair is the best it’s ever been!”
Undergoing a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery
“I had a very positive response to chemotherapy, right from the beginning. Every scan I had was showing that the cancer was shrinking. It was then time for me to have surgery. Initially I was lined up to have a lumpectomy, but I was keen to go through with a mastectomy.”
Mastectomy is a surgery which removes all breast tissue as a way to treat breast cancer, whereas a lumpectomy removes the tumour and surrounding tissue only.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle the constant self-checking. Having a mastectomy and hopefully alleviating a lot of this anxiety made sense for me.”
“I had my surgery under Mr Gerald Gui, Consultant Breast Surgeon at The Royal Marsden. It’s major surgery but it was all absolutely fine. I had the reconstructive surgery in the same procedure, so I was able to wake up, with the tumour out and the implants in. There was only a small scar under my breast after which I can barely see now.”
How Fiona’s doing now
“I’ve been in remission now for two years and am able to enjoy all the things I enjoyed doing before my cancer diagnosis. I have no long-term side effects which limit how I live my life.”
“The level of care, kindness and patience at The Royal Marsden is exemplary. Everyone has been fantastic. The teams always explain everything so well and you’re given such personalised and individual treatment – it really is the NHS at its best.”
Fiona's daughter Annabelle will be running the London Marathon next year to raise funds for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, to say thank you for all the help her mother has received at the hospital.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity is grateful to Lady Garden Foundation for funding a number of scalp coolers for use at The Royal Marsden.
