Media Campaigns
I have recently started sharing my story with a number of organisations to raise awareness of the importance of research.
Help us to Continue Our Care This Christmas.
HELEN ROLLASON
“The environment at the West Essex Support Centre in Harlow is so welcoming and relaxing, and the staff are wonderful. With tea and biscuits, soft music and the lovely surroundings, it is like going to a relaxing spa. The reflexology staff are very professional and understand my needs. I often walk in feeling very emotional and stressed but always come out feeling completely relaxed”.
Rebecca is one of our clients and she wanted us to share her words to show the difference our support makes for her and to say thank you to those who have made it possible; people like you.
In 2021, during lockdown, Rebecca became aware of a lump in her breast. She was breastfeeding her second child at the time and was told that it was possibly a blocked milk duct. However, after a subsequent biopsy and mammogram it was discovered that Rebecca had 3 cancerous lumps. She had chemotherapy and a mastectomy but was told the re-occurrence was a high risk because it had spread to many lymph glands. She later found out that the cancer had spread to her spine and her pelvis.
This journey has been very hard for Rebecca and her family. Her eldest child started school while Rebecca was having chemotherapy. She has been open and honest with her children and, despite often feeling tired and sick, she has tried to lead as normal life as possible.
We are proud of the difference we make to our clients and their families. We can only help families like Rebecca’s because of your kind donations. Will you help us to Continue Our Care This Christmas? Every donation contributes and enables us to future proof the charity. Rebecca’s hope for sharing her story is that you will be encouraged to donate to help us provide the support that she values so much for more local adults living with cancer.
To donate please follow: https://www.helenrollason.org.uk/continue-our-care/
#ContinueOurCareThisChristmas #Campaign
“Stand Up for me,” said mum-of-two Rebecca who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2021.
STAND UP TO CANCER
“I was watching a Stand up to Cancer film about and I remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, I’ve actually got a lump in my breast’”, Rebecca said, “It made me book an appointment with my GP to get it checked out. Two weeks later, I received a letter to say that they suspected it was cancer.”
“After I finished chemotherapy, I had a mastectomy and a CT scan. They told me they thought they had found cancer in my bones and a bone biopsy confirmed it had spread to my spine and pelvis and was incurable. When someone tells you that, you think, ‘That’s it then’.”
The treatment Rebecca is taking is allowing her to make the most of the time she has with her daughters and husband. To help fund research to keep them together for longer, the family of star bakers have been holding cake sales across Hertfordshire and are now asking the nation to Stand Up To Cancer with them to help make the next cancer breakthroughs happen.
“I’d grown up disabled and waited forty years for my perfect life to begin, to almost have it snatched away by discovering I had incurable cancer,” said Rebecca. “I’m here today because of research into better and kinder treatments. That’s why I’m lending my heartfelt support to this vitally important campaign. Now is the moment for everyone to Stand Up To Cancer.”
Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your story with us 🧡#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth #BCAM #StandUpToCancer #CancerStories
Our amazing METUPUK Volunteer Rebecca who has metastatic breast cancer wrote a piece for us called “You can’t take that away from me”.
METUPUK
Like Emma she was also diagnosed with breast cancer just after having one of her children, Rebecca found a lump when she was breastfeeding.
She writes poetry and talks about her struggles living life with incurable cancer but also having a disability which she had prior to cancer. This makes a double whammy of issues to deal with. She lives with her husband, her 2 young children and loves life.
#DisappearingLives #DarkerPink #BusyLivingWithMets #IAmThe31 #BCAM #BCAM23 #BreastCancerCommunity #BreastCancerNow #ClinicalTrials #DyingForACure #make2ndscount #MetastaticBreastCancerAwareness #SecondaryBreastCancer #SecondarySisters #Stage4NeedsMore #StageIVNeedsMore #StandUpToCancer
Gallery of Hope
BREAST CANCER NOW
https://breastcancernow.org/about-us/gallery-of-hope/gallery-of-hope/rebecca-brown/
Rebecca’s story
MAKE SECONDS COUNT
“Poetry helps me cope with my diagnosis.”
My name is Rebecca. I live in Hertfordshire with my husband and two young daughters plus our very lazy cat. I used to be a teacher but took early retirement due to ill health.
I was first diagnosed with primary breast cancer in June 2021. I found a lump whilst breastfeeding my one-year-old. It was lockdown so support for new mums was limited. I was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in my bones in 2022 following a routine PET scan which was supposed to mark the end of treatment. The cancer looks like it has recently spread to my liver.
I was initially told by my GP that it was nothing to worry about and was probably a blocked milk duct. When I was eventually referred for a scan, I was angry because they actually found three lumps, including in my armpit. I knew nothing about secondary breast cancer before my diagnosis. I had to give up work because I wanted all my energy to go on my girls and I really suffered with fatigue.
My youngest daughter was a toddler when I was diagnosed so she does not know any different. But my eldest, exacerbated by Covid, became extremely anxious and really
struggled to let me out of her sight. My husband is obviously worried about me but we try as a family to make the most of every day and to be positive.
I get most of my support from my immediate family, but also some wonderful friends
who cheer me up and watch out for me.
I started writing poetry in the summer of 2022, when the hospice I attended for a wellbeing course gave me a gratitude journal. Once I started, I could not stop! I share my experiences through poetry and an occasional blog, writing about growing up disabled and living with cancer, motherhood, mortality, relationships, loss and love. I hope to provide insight into the struggles and triumphs of daily life. I have had work published in national and international journals and anthologies.
I found Make 2nds Count through a Google search. I wanted to share my story and reach a wider audience of people experiencing the same things. I find hope in the advances I hear about in medical treatments and in the love of my two precious daughters, for whom I must keep living.
