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A MOTHER from Wokingham has vowed to carry on fighting for new drugs to be made available for women living with secondary breast cancer, even though she knows she probably won’t live to see the benefits herself.
Emma Cairns, 45, who lives in Holmewood Close, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer seven years ago, and has undergone various forms of treatments to battle the disease and give her as much time as possible with her daughter Molly, who is now 13.
Earlier this month, Emma was invited to give a speech at the Houses of Parliament on behalf of Breast Cancer Care, a charity which she has championed for many years.
Emma said: “Friday, October 13 was secondary breast cancer awareness day, and every year a group of us go to the Houses of Parliament to talk to MPs about the provision for women with secondary breast cancer.
“This year, because Breast Cancer Care has just launched its new manifesto about how it wants provision to be improved, they had a number of medical experts speaking to MPs, and they asked me to talk about what it’s like living with the disease.
“I got an amazing reaction, I wasn’t really expecting it. Some of the MPs were quite visibly moved and upset, and a lot of people came to talk to me afterwards about how it had made an impact on them. A lot of the people there are living with this disease on a day-to-day basis, so for them to come to me and say they were moved by what I’d said, I was very touched by that.
“All cancer stories are tragic, especially when you are talking about a secondary disease, it’s never going to be a good story as it were, so it’s important to acknowledge that side of things, but I also wanted to show how I have lived with the disease, because that is what will improve provision for women like me, because we are living longer and having more of an impact on society, so I think that builds a case for giving us the drugs we need, which is sadly what we have to do in this day and age.”
During her speech, Emma spoke of her desire to maintain a certain level of ‘normality’ within her and Molly’s lives, despite having to undergo regular treatment.
However, she is practical, and admits that even though she will fight for as long as she can, she knows that she may not live to see the day when these drugs will be made
available.
She said: “If you’re lucky, you get to have a life in between all of the hospital appointments and the treatment. When you’re first diagnosed, it feels like you’ll never do anything ever again, but I have been very fortunate that, up to now, my disease has responded to treatment and I’ve been able to go on holiday with my daughter, and it’s meant I can make some memories with her, there isn’t anything more important in my life.
“This could be my legacy. One of the things that’s difficult about doing this is that any change will probably be too late for me, and that’s quite hard to get your head around.
“I have had three treatments in the last year and none of them have worked, so I am in the group of women who need to get access to these new drugs and at the moment I don’t tick the right boxes.
“So I am having to consider starting to fundraise to pay for them myself. It’s frustrating because on the one hand, I feel like we are making change, but I don’t think I’ll benefit from it.
“Everything in policy and government takes so long, it’s not going to happen overnight.”
As well as lobbying for the availability of new treatments, Emma is also campaigning for more awareness of secondary breast cancer and better diagnosis which could save countless lives.
She said: “Better diagnosis is really key. A lot of women go on with symptoms of secondary breast cancer that aren’t picked up on by GPs and because of that, by the time they are diagnosed the cancer has become more advanced and they aren’t able to get the drugs soon enough.
“Having the secondary breast cancer nurses and the provision that they offer is very important because it is a very different disease compared with when it is a primary disease.
“One day, this will become like a chronic illness, like diabetes, that is managed throughout your life. You won’t be cured of it, but you will live with it, and I think, for me, that is the ultimate goal, and some of these new drugs could be the answer to that, but until they are available across the board, we won’t know.”
Emma posted her emotional speech on Facebook, which has so far been shared more than 600 times.
She said: “It’s really taken off and I didn’t really expect to get the publicity that I’ve had. I shared it on Facebook and it’s gone crazy, I’m reeling a bit. But at the moment I am just waiting to hear back from my medical team regarding a plan and what we can try next.
“If none of those treatments come off, I may be looking at having to pay for this myself, and we’re talking around £3,000-£4,000 a month. I’m not giving up by any stretch and just keeping on with it.”
To read Emma’s speech, visit http://bit.ly/2h59lWF. To find out more about Breast Cancer Care and to read their manifesto visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk.
