Breast Cancer Awareness - 300km CHARITY CYCLE
Donation protected
300km Charity Cycle for Breast Cancer Awareness
Friday 30th & Saturday 31st October 2020
Hi everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to come to my page and donate to a good cause.
I am doing a charity cycle for Breast Cancer Awareness, cycling to the 5 Breast cancer centres in Northern Ireland which is a 300km round trip, that is unless I get lost and take a longer route… it’s me, so it’s possible!
I usually don’t like asking people for sponsorship money but I guess if I can’t do it now, when it’s something that is affecting me so personally, when can I do it?
Not many know of my diagnoses yet, so reading this will be the first time most people will find out that I have invasive Breast Cancer.
For those who are unaware of my history, when I was 16 years old I had a hereditary gene test done which I tested positive for being a BRCA 1 carrier (breast cancer gene). So I’ve known for a while that I was in the high-risk group. I have been doing yearly MRI screening and checkups with the hope of having a family before having preventative surgery to reduce my risk. Unfortunately, cancer had other plans and got to me first.
I found a lump late August that just seemed to appear from nowhere. Three weeks later I was at Antrim Area Hospital for investigatory tests. In one morning I had an MRI, Ultrasound, 2 Mammograms and 5 breast biopsy samples taken. I can’t fault how thorough and lovely all the hospital staff were that day.
I wasn’t expecting for the lump to be anything more than just a silly cyst, I even felt a little embarrassed that I might be wasting peoples time, all this fuss for nothing. Though I quickly realised it wasn’t good news when the doctor brought a Breast Care Nurse into the room with us before speaking with me. I was told that they were really worried with what they had seen. The doctor couldn’t give an official diagnoses that day because no pathologists were working in the clinics since Covid, but I pretty much was told I’d cancer.
I was taken back by the news but a couple of days later I got straight to thinking what I could do to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, to try and give back in some small way.
Maybe it was also a distraction for myself but the idea of cycling to all the Breast Cancer Centres in Northern Ireland was born, starting off at Belfast City Hospital where it all began for me, where I was first tested for the breast cancer gene.
A week later on 28th September, which felt like the longest week ever, I made another trip to Antrim Area Hospital where I received the official cancer diagnoses. The consultant informed me that there was a node close to my lung that they were worried about and because of this the treatment recommendation is chemotherapy upfront, followed by surgery to remove the breasts and then radiotherapy if needed. But even then, with the biopsy results back, there were still unknowns, whether it had spread elsewhere in my body or not.
Writing this now on 21st October I still don’t know the answer to that, but regardless, I’m determined to try and stay strong to tackle whatever is thrown my way!
I have had my moments but I am pretty positive and upbeat about everything so far. I’ve been so busy between work and hospital trips I’ve not had time to dwell on it. Maybe it might hit me more when I start chemo and see hair falling out, but hopefully I can stay in a good headspace, it can only help!
Looking at the timeline it might seem like a slow and long process, that I should have more answers and treatment started by now, but I have to trust that the doctors know best and need to take the time for scans and biopsies to find out everything they can to have the full picture before starting my chemotherapy treatment, which I’m expecting to get a date for any day now.
But before I start chemo…. did I mention, I’m squeezing in a little 2-day cycle around Northern Ireland!
Not going to lie, I’m a little scared as I’ve not been on my bike since the summer, so if I do make it the whole way, I might not be able to walk for a week after this event, lol. So please donate what you can, every penny counts!
I have chosen Cancer Focus NI to give the first part of donations. Cancer Focus NI not only provide care and support to cancer patients, but they also fund research at the Patrick G Johnson Centre For Cancer Research. In this centre at Queens University, a project is looking into preventing breast and ovarian cancers by investigating how mutant BRCA genes – those that can cause cancer – can be repaired.
Thank you for taking the time to read my page, I really hadn’t planned on writing a short novel!
Love Julie xx
Friday 30th & Saturday 31st October 2020
Hi everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to come to my page and donate to a good cause.
I am doing a charity cycle for Breast Cancer Awareness, cycling to the 5 Breast cancer centres in Northern Ireland which is a 300km round trip, that is unless I get lost and take a longer route… it’s me, so it’s possible!
I usually don’t like asking people for sponsorship money but I guess if I can’t do it now, when it’s something that is affecting me so personally, when can I do it?
Not many know of my diagnoses yet, so reading this will be the first time most people will find out that I have invasive Breast Cancer.
For those who are unaware of my history, when I was 16 years old I had a hereditary gene test done which I tested positive for being a BRCA 1 carrier (breast cancer gene). So I’ve known for a while that I was in the high-risk group. I have been doing yearly MRI screening and checkups with the hope of having a family before having preventative surgery to reduce my risk. Unfortunately, cancer had other plans and got to me first.
I found a lump late August that just seemed to appear from nowhere. Three weeks later I was at Antrim Area Hospital for investigatory tests. In one morning I had an MRI, Ultrasound, 2 Mammograms and 5 breast biopsy samples taken. I can’t fault how thorough and lovely all the hospital staff were that day.
I wasn’t expecting for the lump to be anything more than just a silly cyst, I even felt a little embarrassed that I might be wasting peoples time, all this fuss for nothing. Though I quickly realised it wasn’t good news when the doctor brought a Breast Care Nurse into the room with us before speaking with me. I was told that they were really worried with what they had seen. The doctor couldn’t give an official diagnoses that day because no pathologists were working in the clinics since Covid, but I pretty much was told I’d cancer.
I was taken back by the news but a couple of days later I got straight to thinking what I could do to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, to try and give back in some small way.
Maybe it was also a distraction for myself but the idea of cycling to all the Breast Cancer Centres in Northern Ireland was born, starting off at Belfast City Hospital where it all began for me, where I was first tested for the breast cancer gene.
A week later on 28th September, which felt like the longest week ever, I made another trip to Antrim Area Hospital where I received the official cancer diagnoses. The consultant informed me that there was a node close to my lung that they were worried about and because of this the treatment recommendation is chemotherapy upfront, followed by surgery to remove the breasts and then radiotherapy if needed. But even then, with the biopsy results back, there were still unknowns, whether it had spread elsewhere in my body or not. Writing this now on 21st October I still don’t know the answer to that, but regardless, I’m determined to try and stay strong to tackle whatever is thrown my way!
I have had my moments but I am pretty positive and upbeat about everything so far. I’ve been so busy between work and hospital trips I’ve not had time to dwell on it. Maybe it might hit me more when I start chemo and see hair falling out, but hopefully I can stay in a good headspace, it can only help!
Looking at the timeline it might seem like a slow and long process, that I should have more answers and treatment started by now, but I have to trust that the doctors know best and need to take the time for scans and biopsies to find out everything they can to have the full picture before starting my chemotherapy treatment, which I’m expecting to get a date for any day now.
But before I start chemo…. did I mention, I’m squeezing in a little 2-day cycle around Northern Ireland!
Not going to lie, I’m a little scared as I’ve not been on my bike since the summer, so if I do make it the whole way, I might not be able to walk for a week after this event, lol. So please donate what you can, every penny counts!
I have chosen Cancer Focus NI to give the first part of donations. Cancer Focus NI not only provide care and support to cancer patients, but they also fund research at the Patrick G Johnson Centre For Cancer Research. In this centre at Queens University, a project is looking into preventing breast and ovarian cancers by investigating how mutant BRCA genes – those that can cause cancer – can be repaired.
Thank you for taking the time to read my page, I really hadn’t planned on writing a short novel!
Love Julie xx
Organizer
Julie Lillis
Organizer