THE HERALD FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10 2017
37 Health
course of their lives, but also are able to live with cancer because they have the support, both pharmaceutical and moral, in order to do that.” Responding, Welsh Conservative
leader Andrew RT Davies asked for a commitment on lung cancer survival rates: “There is a goal that the UK Lung Cancer Coalition has, which is to increase the survival rates from lung cancer. Irrespective of where you live across the United Kingdom, the survival rates are very, very poor indeed: they have a target to increase the survival rate from lung cancer after five years up to 25 per cent by 2025. Will you be prepared to set that as a goal for your Government to work to, certainly up to 2021, and hopefully to deliver?” Accepting
the proposed
commitment, the First Minister replied: “Yes, I think that’s reasonable. We want to see more people live with and, ultimately, survive lung cancer. I have
no difficulty, of course, in looking to support an initiative that wants to cut the number of deaths through lung cancer in the way that the leader of the Welsh Conservatives has described.”
THE SURVIVOR As part of World Cancer Day,
cancer patients from around the world were asked to share their stories online. Adele from the UK wrote: " ‘On March 27, 2015, I was
diagnosed with Triple negative Breast cancer. I was 33 years old. I remember that day like it was yesterday. "I think deep down I knew, because
I didn’t cry or get upset, I just said oh ok, well, s**t happens, what’s the plan of action. I don’t think my doctor quite expected that response by the look on her face however she went straight into explaining everything. "The next 8 months consisted
of a sentinel lymph node biopsy, IVF to freeze my eggs, 6 rounds of Chemotherapy, a Lumpectomy and 19 sessions of radiotherapy. "The IVF was a bit of a curve
ball because I had not thought about having children; it’s something you take for granted that it’ll happen when it happens. Then all of a sudden I was faced with the decision to freeze my eggs (chemo can affect your fertility) whilst at the same time still trying to digest the fact that I had breast cancer. "I was determined to keep my life
as normal as I could during this period and so I carried on working full time through my treatment. At times I would feel tired but I made sure I got enough sleep at night, did low impact exercises such as yoga and long walks and ate healthy. "I decided from the start that I
would be very open about my diagnosis and decided to share that information on
my facebook page. I never thought for a minute that someone my age would get Breast Cancer and so I wanted to make my friends more aware that it can happen to anyone. "The overwhelming support I
received from my friends, family, colleagues and people that I hadn’t spoken to in years were my motivation. It made me realise how much I’m loved and how lucky I am to have this network around me. "It’s been just over 2 months now
since I completed all my treatment and I’m fortunate that the cancer is all gone. The NHS staff that I met over the last 8 months have been outstanding and made this journey more bearable. Thank you! My next chapter has now started and it’s time to enjoy life!"
Survivor: Adele, diagnosed with breast cancer aged 33
36 High Street Haverfordwest SA61 2DA
01437 762935,
www.advocacywestwales.org.uk.
AWWprovides an independent advocacy service for people with a serious mental health problem. The
advocacy service is free, confidential and independent of other services
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