Double trouble!

When I was 50 years old I suffered a really bad heart attack which damaged my heart for good. I have an aneurysm which fills up with blood clots so I have to take Warfarin/Coumadin for the rest of my life.

Well, I thought hopefully that's my bad luck finished with, until in November 2012 I felt a lump in my left breast.

It was almost on my sternum so I didn't think much of it but decided to have it checked out.

I went to our local hospital who have an all in one breast clinic. I went alone as I didn't think I would be told anything bad.

After the mammogram I had an ultrasound. The radiologist said she could see something abnormal and that she wanted the doctor to carry out a needle biopsy. He gave me a local anaesthetic but it still hurt!

I returned to the room where I first seen the consultant and he said to me "I think that this is a breast cancer, but we're not infallible so we'll get the biopsy tested and you can come back next week but bring someone with you as 4 ears are better than two".

As you might imagine, I walked out of there in a daze. Just then my husband rang to ask how I'd got on and I had to tell him.

The results showed I had a high grade tumour which was HER2+

The treatment regime was gruelling due to my heart disease and my heart function deteriorated further, although it's supposed to be temporary but it's still not back to the way it was.

However, I'm still here, still fighting and now, 2 years after my mastectomy I'm feeling human again!

And as a lovely treat my husband has booked us a 3 week holiday in the Caribbean in April. Life is good and it just goes to prove that cancer is not an automatic death sentence anymore.

Good luck to all of you ladies (and men) who are going through this or recently diagnosed. There IS hope xx

Anne Howe
Keighley, United Kingdom