Zoe's story

My initial thoughts were, “I don’t want to die”, “I am not ready to die yet”, and thinking of all the things I still wanted to do and experience in life. I wasn’t ready to leave my friends, my family. This also felt surreal for me, especially being a nurse, I am rarely sat in the patient seat and now I was a patient with cancer.

Everything moved very quickly from that moment; I had so many different types of scans and biopsies. There were so many difficult questions to consider and decisions to make, things I wasn’t ready to decide in that moment, but I had no choice. Suddenly cancer takes over your life, and it doesn’t wait for anyone or anything.

Within weeks, I was having an 8-hour surgery to remove the cancer and reconstruct what was left of my breast tissue, as well as making my breasts match as a lot of tissue was taken from the effected breast. Then followed IVF and fertility preservation, then, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My body didn’t get a break, I was exhausted but so proud of HER, she carried me through the most brutal but lifesaving treatments. When that was finished, I had to go straight back to work, I couldn’t afford to take any more time off, there was no time to heal or rest and try to process what I had just been through. I then started hormone therapy which includes daily medication and a monthly injection for 10 years to try and stop my cancer from coming back and recently in the past few months I have started targeted therapy that I will need to take for the next 3 years that is taken by some at a higher risk of the cancer returning.

I feel strongly that I need to turn a negative and traumatic experience into something positive. That good must come out of this. Cancer is something I am reminded of every day, you are never the same person after, and the fear of recurrence can be overwhelming. Therefore, I see it as, if I am going to share my life with this, then it must be something positive.

I am a patient ambassador for Radiotherapy UK and advocate in parliament for more funding and access to radiotherapy for all cancer patients that need it. I recently visited Downing Street to hand in an MPs signed pledge. I regularly do sessions for Breast Cancer Now and Shine Cancer Support on the impact cancer has on sex, intimacy and relationships for younger people with a cancer diagnosis. I have supported fundraising campaigns for Future Dreams Chairty to help them raise vital funds; to continue offering the amazing work they do with the breast cancer community, and I have been invited onto podcasts with different professionals to talk about my experience of cancer and raise awareness.

As much as I wish it never happened, there has been some good that has come from this experience and I will continue to use my voice to advocate for the cancer community.