“The breast cancer team made my journey much easier”
Waltham Forest Mayor Cllr Karen Bellamy talks about her experience as a breast cancer patient at Whipps Cross and encourages people to donate to her fundraising cause.
Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2020 and finished her treatment at our breast cancer unit in September 2021.
How did you find about your diagnosis?
I was watching “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” and a TV presenter, Victoria Derbyshire, was on there talking about her breast cancer and she was talking about the fact that she had changes to the skin on her breast and I thought I’ve got that and I had a look and decided to call the doctors the following day.
Three days later, I was here at Whipps Cross. I had a mammogram, ultrasound, the biopsy and they told me they were 95% that it was cancer; that was Christmas eve in 2020 and then on New Year’s eve 2020 they told me it was definitely cancer and I would have my surgery in January which I did, and that was all obviously in the middle of the pandemic but I had really quick service, brilliant care and I then had to wait for my chemo. I had chemo and radiotherapy and that finished last year in September 2021.
And in 2022 I was back at Whipps for my yearly mammogram.
How was your experience here at Whipps Cross?
The diagnosis was really hard but this place made it so much easier because everybody was so welcoming and warm so the fear that I had when I came in was almost gone by the time I came out because I felt that they knew what they were doing. They knew what the plan was and I felt that they knew how to look after me properly and even when I came back, 18 months later, everybody remembers me and I’ve seen that not just with me but also with other people.
Why did you choose Whipps Cross as one of your fundraising causes and how would you encourage other people to support the cause?
I chose Whipps Cross because it’s very personal to me as it’s something that I’ve had experience very recently.
People can get involved and send their donations here.
I know times are hard, I know things are tight for people but if everyone in Waltham Forest put in £1 that would be £287,000. I know that won’t happen, but the main thing is that small donations that you might think don’t mean much, actually collectively can mean a lot, particularly for a service like this at Whipps Cross.
What would you tell doctors and nurses that look after you when you were here as a patient? Is there anything in particular that you are fond of?
Everyone from the reception to the doctors to the nurses were really friendly. It is that personal touch, you are not a number, they know your name and they know what you are going through and that to me has meant so much.
There is one particular nurse Betsy, who was like a big sister for me. She really made me feel that she understood what I was going through and that she was going to be there for me, like Anita, another nurse who cared for me.
Other women going through a similar situation, what would you tell them to raise awareness of breast cancer?
Firstly, definitely check your breast. If you feel there’s a problem, even if it’s something that you don’t recognise as being a symptom of breast cancer go and get it look at by your GP.
If you are diagnosed, don’t be frightened because you hear and see a lot of people who are very ill and my chemo did made me feel sick, I lost my hair but I managed to do my council work and work all the way through and that was with all the support of the people around me, the support of breast clinic and the council.
It’s possible to continue a normal life it doesn’t mean that everything is going to be dramatically different, things will change but there are good parts to it because you suddenly realise how many people care for you.
Is there anything else that you’d like to share?
Just to say thank you to the breast clinic because you made my journey so much easier.
Watch Karen’s message about why she is raising money for the breast cancer unit at Whipps Cross.
(Photo below: Karen with consultants Ullah and Aggarwal)
