New research could buy me more time to see my daughter grow up – that’s the powerful message from a Nottinghamshire woman with terminal breast cancer.
Leanne Cann, 32, is backing a project at the University of Nottingham which is developing new treatments and trying to achieve earlier diagnosis.
She was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer just a few months after giving birth to her daughter Olivia.
Leanne, from Mansfield, was told it was incurable and given a year to live – but four years on her fight continues.
Now she’s working with the university’s ‘Breast Cancer and Me’ campaign in the hope of developing a new treatment.
From finding a lump in her breast when she was showering, to having biopsies, scans and operations, it was a long road to any form of recovery.
Leanne said: “I had to have a number of operations to remove lumps and tumours that kept growing back. I had a mastectomy but while I was recovering another tumour grew through.
“I had so many operations on my chest that my arm is now damaged from it. But they couldn’t keep operating as the tumours grew. I was told my cancer was terminal.”
Due to the treatment Leanne received the cancer growth has now stabilised.
Picture: Leanne and daughter Olivia. Leanne’s breast cancer is currently stable
“It’ll never go away”, says Leanne. “I’ll never know when it will come back until it starts growing again.
“I sometimes think I shouldn’t be here – without the treatment I had the cancer wouldn’t be dormant. Having triple negative cancer means it’s not caused by hormones like some cancers so there are fewer options for treatment.
“I’ve had a lot of time to get used to it. I concentrate on spending time with my family and helping to raise awareness and money to fund future research – to help save people like me.
“There are drugs that aren’t for my type of breast cancer – so I’m hoping they’ll find something that will work for me as well.”
As part of the new campaign the University is asking as many people as possible to join in fundraising activity- holding bake sales, charity events, sponsored walks, and bike rides.
One of the flagship fundraising events is Life Cycle 6, a 1,400km sponsored bike ride led by the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir David Greenaway, and a team of 12 riders.
Members of the public can sponsor the team, follow their progress, and/or challenge themselves to take part in a Community Bike Ride in September.
John Robertson, a world renowned breast cancer specialist and Professor of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, will be taking part in the ride this year.
He said: “Every day in the UK 140 women are told they have breast cancer.
“That number is too high and, at The University of Nottingham, we know we can change that.
“Our innovative research is already making a difference and we hope that the research on early detection of this disease and the treatments we are working to develop will be able to save lives.
“For those who aren’t scientists or doctors there is another way to help. I’m proud that for Life Cycle 6, the funds we raise will be going towards #BreastCancerAndMe.
“We’re also asking you to get involved too, either by joining in with our Community bike ride or by raising funds in another way. There are lots of ideas on our website. Please join us and help us beat breast cancer.”
