Lynne speaks about her brush with cancer

Lynne Lynas (46) lives in Newtownabbey with her husband Dave and their two children.

Lynne has spoken about her own brush with cancer in a bid to encourage other women to go for a screening.

“In February 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the end of the Christmas holidays 2006 I’d found a lump. Although I was concerned, I didn’t panic. I left it a month to see if it had changed in shape or size but it didn’t.

“After going on a planned holiday in February I scheduled an appointment with my GP. She agreed that I should have further investigation. I went to the Ulster Clinic for a mammogram followed by a scan and needle biopsy. Only two hours later I was told I had breast cancer and needed a mastectomy. I chose to have reconstructive surgery at the same time.

“The surgery took place on April 2 2007. I was informed that I had grade 3 cancer which would require chemotherapy, radiotherapy and two cancer drugs. I healed quickly and coped well with the treatment, remaining very positive throughout.

“I went back to work part time in February 2009. At around the same time my daughter Sarah - then 19, started to experience chest pains and lethargy. An ECG showed nothing, but a chest x-ray revealed a dark shadow in her chest cavity. The shadow turned out to be a tennis ball sized tumour behind her breast bone and my daughter was diagnosed with B Cell Lymphoma. She received six cycles of chemotherapy straight away and then had a PET scan to determine if she required radiotherapy.

“Once Sarah had come through her treatment the City Hospital recommended Action Cancer for complementary therapy and counselling. We both booked and went for our treatments together but used our hours differently: Sarah had an aromatherapy massage and was taught relaxation techniques for the hour, while mine started with 20 minutes of informal chatting and then moved into the reflexology treatment.

“Due to her age, Sarah was then advised by her complementary therapist to book in for counselling sessions.

“There had been so much stress and so much information that although we were both coping well on the surface, deep down there was a lot of emotional stress that needed dealt with. That hour to unwind, to switch off and experience complete relaxation between running from hospital to hospital for appointments was priceless.

“And to talk to someone with no connection to the family, just to be able to offload on to somebody was very therapeutic. A part of surviving cancer is the fear that it will come back, so Sarah found her sessions very beneficial to talk through her concerns. Although we talked about our cancers in depth with each other, it was good for her to talk to someone impartial as well.

“We’re both doing very well now and planning plenty of holidays! We both agree that cancer is a strange thing - coming through it you are a different person. It certainly puts life into perspective and makes you enjoy everything that little bit more.”

For the third consecutive year, the campaign is being supported and promoted by Gordons Chemists.

The Gordons Chemist store at 32 The Diamond, Rathcoole, would like to remind all women aged 40-49 and 70+ to call in-store tomorrow, Friday, October 22, during Breast Action Day. This is the focus day for ladies to sign up for a breast screening with leading local cancer charity, Action Cancer. You can support the campaign by buying a pink ribbon, a raffle ticket for a brand new Fiat 500 or simply by making a donation in store.