Mum diagnosed with cancer after unrelated doctor’s appointment had 'no idea' she'd been suffering common symptom for months
If you’d told healthy mum-of-four Lucy Hollis this time last year that she’d be diagnosed with breast, spinal, neck and pelvic cancer - all within the space of six months - she’d never have believed you.
Little did the 46-year-old know that she’d actually been harbouring dangerous cells in her body for over a year, but only raised the alarm when a couple of rather inconspicuous symptoms began presenting themselves.
It was only during a doctor’s appointment for a separate health issue - a routine HRT check-up - that she candidly mentioned she’d felt slightly under the weather in recent months.
"Whilst on holiday in April last year, I didn’t find a lump as such, but I could feel something odd – something which was later described as rejuvenated tissue – in my left boob," she tells Tyla.
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"To be honest, I left it as long as possible to see a doctor because it kept appearing and disappearing."
Despite some members of Lucy’s family having endured battles with breast cancer in the past, after being genetically tested some years ago, she was told she had a low risk of developing the cancerous cells.
Two months later, however, after her breast began aching, she sought medical advice from her local surgery to be told it was likely nothing, but that she’d benefit from a mammogram, just in case.
Within a week, the Worcestershire-born Operations Manager turned up to her appointment where, within a matter of minutes, she was also referred for an ultrasound, where both breasts were examined as a matter of caution.
"I actually almost didn’t go because in my own mind, I just thought, this can’t be anything serious. I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time," she admits. "But on this occasion, I was way off."
Lucy - who has since moved to Huddersfield with her Greater Manchester Police officer husband and their children - recalled the scans of her left breast being over and done with in a heartbeat.
It was her right breast that sparked concern from doctors, however.
"The nurse seemed to be taking forever and was pressing in all different directions but I was warned that women do often have dense breasts," she explains.
"Then, she asked if she could take a biopsy, but I couldn’t help thinking it was all a bit unnecessary. I hadn’t suffered any common symptoms like dimpling, redness, or a real lump. There was absolutely nothing on my right breast."
Lucy reveals, however, that she’d actually been suffering another common symptom behind the scenes for as long as six months, but had put it down to a busy schedule.
"The only other thing that was awry inside my body was that I was exhausted, more so than ever. In the six months before my diagnosis, it got to the point where it would reach the middle of the day, and I’d feel like I needed to sleep. I’d just have to lie down on the sofa and give myself an hour, but the nap made no difference.
"Even though I work from home, I’ve still got two children living at home, so I put it down to just being really tired. I was busy, backwards and forwards on the school run."
It wasn’t until over a week later that she was given an appointment at the clinic, during which she was dealt the life-changing blow.
Lucy was diagnosed with grade 2 invasive breast cancer, but claims she was reassured by the doctor that they’d be able to cure it.
"I was taken to see the breast care nurse to mop up my tears, but I was still in a state of shock," she confesses. "The very first thing that came to my mind was my children. They knew I had a biopsy done, but I’d assured my eldest daughter that cancer was very unlikely, and she seemed satisfied with that.
"It was my 11-year-old’s last week weeks at primary school at the time, so there were so many lovely things happening. I didn’t want to taint that."
Lucy was told at the appointment that doctors would likely get away with a ‘lumpectomy’ to remove the cancerous tumours, but that she may have to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy to totally eradicate the disease.
But following an initial MRI scan, the surgeon had to break the news to Lucy that she’d have to undergo a full mastectomy, being that the cancer in her breast presented itself as a web, rather than a lump.
"I was okay with that news because I just wanted the cancer gone. I know that the idea of a mastectomy for some people is the worst thing, but if it was a way to get rid of the disease, I’d welcome it.
"Plus, I didn’t really care what I looked like. I told the surgeon that, and she said, ‘Well, you don’t have to care, but I’ll care. You just concentrate on getting better’."
It was following her double mastectomy, however, that Lucy recalls ‘everything started unravelling’.
Four days after the July procedure, the doting mum was informed that a sentinel node biopsy taken prior indicated that the cancer had spread to lymph nodes.
“We’d gone on a weekend away in a motorhome we used to have when they called," she recalls.
"But that phone call was the first time I’d gotten emotional about it. We pulled over and sat on the side of the road in floods of tears. It was the most awful time. I’d tried to be strong for my kids, but I couldn’t at that time."
Ten days later, Lucy underwent a lymph node clearance, and after a CT scan, she was given even more heart-breaking news.
"They thought they’d found cancer in my spine, pelvis and neck, but I’d had back problems since my youngest daughter was born and pelvis pain for several years. I’d asked how they could be sure, and they couldn’t be," she says.
After ceaseless more scans and an ‘agonisingly painful’ pelvis biopsy, the news Lucy and her family dreaded most was confirmed in October.
She’d been suffering unbeknownst from several forms of cancer for some years prior to her initial doctor’s appointment, and believes it all began around the age of 43.
"I’ll be on treatment now for life, or for as long as it works," she tells Tyla. "They can’t cure me, but they also can’t tell me how long I’ll live for.
"I don’t think they actually know for certain, but the average for someone with the same types of cancer as me is around five years. I’m hoping to be around a lot longer than that."
For now, all Lucy can do is take her prescribed medication – which includes Ribociclib, a ‘kinder’ form of targeted therapy aimed at tackling breast cancer that has spread to another part of the body, as opposed to undergoing further chemotherapy, and Letrozole, which puts her into a forced menopause whilst trying to keep further spreading at bay.
Despite her arduous treatment - which she says has sadly caused her hair to thin, as well as frequent digestive issues - Lucy insists she’s doing well, and credits the support of her four kids and other-half for getting her through the last year.
"I’ve only been on treatment since November, but my most recent scan – around three weeks ago – has now shown that my cancer is stable. It’s amazing news. For just six months’ worth of treatment, I think it’s pretty fantastic.
“My husband has been able to change his role since I became sick, so he’s at home with me a lot more, helping with my youngest two. He takes me to every appointment – every treatment. He’s really stepped up – he’s had to!"
Since her life-altering diagnosis, Lucy has used her experience to launch a petition calling for the routine age for an initial mammogram to be lowered by the British government.
"I absolutely wouldn’t be here if I’d waited to be invited for a mammogram. If I hadn’t raised my tiny concerns at the doctor’s and been referred to a mammogram, I’d be dead.
"Many women now know the importance of checking your breasts regularly, but in some cases – like mine – there could be nothing there to feel for. That does not mean that you’re not at risk."
Lucy - who runs the Instagram account @breastintentionspetition - now demands: "Why not encourage younger women to undergo a mammogram? It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
"It definitely would have changed my outcome if I’d have had a mammogram or been screened in some way at around the age of 40 and then every two years since. That would have saved my life, and it would save the lives of so many others.
"The government has only given quite a poor, standardised response so far which was based on a lot of outdated information, but we’ve hit over 10,000 signatures so far, so we just want to keep it going."
Sign Lucy's government petition right here.
Topics: Health, Parenting, UK News, News, Life, Real Life, True Life
Rhianna Benson