About Me

This challenge I set myself of climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro for cancer came about while I was still having Chemotherapy.  Let me give you the back story of the events that have led to this fantastic challenge and all future ones too.

In the July of 2006 I had an accident at home which caused me to rupture the Anterior Talofibular Ligament and caused severe damage to both the Lateral and medial ligaments of my right ankle it was a silly accident, I had stepped off (no more than 6 inches) the newly built stone patio onto a raised mound of soil which gave way.  My ankle wobbled side to side a few times and I felt and heard a pop, all the above damage was caused by that.  I was on crutches for five months, three of them were non weight bearing. At five weeks it still couldn’t be confirmed yes or no to a break, so as well as an emergency MRI I was to have emergency Physiotherapy.  The MRI confirmed no break, just severe soft tissue damage.  I had Physiotherapy twice a week for the next four months including a cycle of hydrotherapy.  It was unclear how much movement and flexibility I would have at this time.  I had to have an ankle arthroscopy in the summer of 2007 to remove some scar tissue to increase my movement which was fairly restricted.  After recovering from my corrective surgery, I returned to work to discover we had new top management in place.  I had worked at this company since 1986.  The problem with the deputy managing director kept building, to say he was volatile is quite the understatement.  I unfortunately had meetings with him daily.  Consequently things came to a head in March 2008.  I went to my GP who put me on the sick with work related stress.  I had many symptoms going on within this time, one of the most debilitating was an anxiety disorder I developed through the stress.  I saw a councillor for this, nothing with the company was resolved so I was left with no option but to go to a works tribunal.  This continued for 20 months.

While all this was going on my father was in and out of hospital, his health was deteriorating, he was released from hospital in the October 2008 with the understanding he was coming home to die.  Palliative care was put in place, two weeks after coming home Dad passed away with all the family around him on October 22^nd 2008.  I had started feeling very tired while all this was going on, all the jobs I started took a lot longer than before, I was gaining weight like nobody’s business which obviously made me feel worse about myself. The GP's had no answer at this time but to say it was the stress and sleep deprivation I was suffering at that time.

On April 28^th 2009 I by accident, felt a lump in my right breast,( would love to say I was responsible and checked myself regularly, but like millions of women around the world I didn't)   I phoned my GP and got an appointment for the 7^th May 2009, my GP faxed my information to the hospital for an appointment the following Tuesday.  So on Tuesday 12^th May I went to the hospital for my consultation.  My consultant did a physical examination, I was then sent off for a mammogram, ultra-sound and consequently had two biopsies done.  After this I went back to see the consultant who said I had to go back in a week for the results from the biopsies.  However they were 99.9% certain it was cancer.  They told me not to come on my own the following week.  I went back on the 19^th May where cancer was confirmed I was 41 years old.

I said ok, what’s the next step, he said a lumpectomy within 30 days.  The surgery was scheduled for the 12^th June.  It turned out that week I was in the tribunal for work on the Monday and Tuesday   where I won my case against my previous employers, the Thursday I had to have a radioactive isotope injection and  gamma scans, of which I took to hospital with me on the Friday morning. for my surgery. (busy week). But hey, I got Wednesday off!  While I had the lumpectomy done, they also did a biopsy of my sentinel lymph node and a random selection of others.  Two weeks after my surgery I had a follow up appointment with my consultant.  “He said I have grade 3 non node Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer” basically the most aggressive type of cancer but it had been caught early enough so had not spread into my lymph nodes, hence the non-node.  So they were telling me my follow up treatment would involve 6 months of chemo followed by radiotherapy.  I had an appointment with the chemo team,they discussed with me they types of chemo I was to have and signed the consent forms.

I was to have 8 (12 lots ) cycles of chemo, two different types.  The first 4 cycles were epirubicin, the cycle is a 3 week period.  You definitely lose your hair when having Epirubicin.  I lost my hair 3 and half weeks after my first treatment.  All chemo’s are very harsh on your body, it’s a strange thing to know you are been poisoned to be saved, weird!!  Anyway I developed “cording” after my second treatment ( where your veins shrink)  it’s pretty painful and I struggled to straighten my arm, it was a bit rough as I was having chemo intravenously in my left arm and I am left handed.  My veins started collapsing.  My fourth and last lot of Epirubicin had to be delayed.  90 minutes, 3 nurses and 5 collapsed veins later it was a no-go.  I was scheduled for day surgery and had a Hickman line put in under general.  My second 4 cycles were a chemo called CMF.  It’s a triple cocktail and is given 2 weeks on the trot.  I had a reaction to my first dose, was violently sick, so they changed the dosage, gave new anti – sickness injections and steroid injections prior to receiving the Chemo.The CMF kicked me into a medical induced premature menopause, of which I haven't come out of, and it seem highly unlikely that I will, so the invasive treatment for my cancer kicked me into a premature menopause.  Things were a little better after that.  All the staff on Airdale General Hospital's HODU unit were fantastic, they really take good care of you and are up for a laugh, it sounds weird, but I loved going to see them :) When I pop in to see them, they tell anyone who will listen, that I'm one of theirs and they will never let me go!

It came to my last cycle (2 lot) I had my first on the 30^th of December along with my second dose of the Swine flu vaccine, I was  unwell after, managed to stay up till midnight on New Year’s Eve (just) and then New Year’s day was definitely unwell, didn’t present a temperature, but had a sharp pain shooting from my right breast up to my neck, I thought it was trapped wind or something.  At 3am on Saturday 2^nd January 2010 I was rushed into hospital, put on broad spectrum antibiotics while they tried to determine what was actually wrong with me ( It was also when the Swine flu was about ).  It was clear at this point something was very wrong.  I was presenting different symptoms, they thought at first I had an infection in my Hickman line, then they thought the infection was in the surrounding tissue, I was also getting treated for blood clots in my lung. Wednesday morning I was in pure agony, they were injecting morphine, I thought I was having a heart attack, the pain was in the left side of my chest where your heart is ( hey I'm no doctor lol! ) and eventually I passed out after being in constant pain for around 90 minutes, I'm unclear if it was from pain or morphine. I eventually came around mid morning with with an oxygen mask on, struggling to breathe.  I had an emergency CT scan early afternoon and it was confirmed a collapsed lung and pneumonia.I did have fluid on my lung but it couldn't be drained because of the blood thinning injections I'd been having for the blood clots.The doctors were worried the fluid wouldn't reabsorb into my body and they'd be forced to drain the fluid off with the risk of me bleeding out. Luckily it did sort itself out. I couldn’t have my last chemo. It took me quite a long time to understand why it was ok not to finish my scheduled doses. I was very lucky with regards to the pneumonia with been immunosuppressed at the time,the medical staff took very good care of me. 

It was at this time I set myself two challenges:-

• Complete Walk the Walk London Moonwalk
• Climb Mt.Kilimanjaro

I left hospital and completed my Radiotherapy in the middle of March 2010.  Then I started the process of building myself and stamina up.This has been no easy task, what with recovering from the pneumonia and the problems I've had with the cancer drugs. We did 6 months of training for the London Moonwalk and I with great pride completed it this May 14th 2011.  So onto my second challenge Mt.Kilimanjaro set  2012. I sadly had to delay this due to my health and physical state - but has hard as I found that decision, I know it was the only one I could make at that time. But fear not, I will still complete my climb. I always knew it was a big ask of myself, but know I will stand on the "Roof of Africa" looking out over the horizon. The health issues carried on and this kept pushing back the climb, and along with personal issues which ended my relationship of 14 years it was a rough few years.. So finally Mount.Kilimanjaro is booked to take place in February 2015! . It's been the longest, hardest and most frustrating journey for this challenge, but I've finally made it!

I have since been diagnosed with Osteoporosis too, this is because the chemo kicked me into a premature menopause and the fact I can have no estrogen replacement due to the type of cancer I have, and  so will adjust my training accordingly (no more parachute jumps and the such for me!) I really don't fully understand the "Silent disease" as it is called, but know I have to be careful with what activities I can now do, but stress exercise is the best thing for it. It helps stop the body getting rid of and instead keeps the calcium to maintain the bones. I will be having a scan in early 2013 to check the progress of the Osteoporosis.

It has been found from a gym mot that my cholesterol is high, I have had it rechecked by the GP's and it is very high, this is most probably because of the cancer drug I take as for the usual causes I don't have or do most of them.I don't smoke, hardly drink, I'm not inactive....but am overweight ( which they can't tell me why that is so...I have gained three sizes since last Sept even though I jogged 5 km's a day and then did 6 months of endurance training for the London Moonwalk. So I have been told I will be on cholesterol meds for as long as I am on the cancer drug. Doc has told me the cholesterol drug will halve my cholesterol quickly and take me out of the danger zone.

I have decided after seeing the Rheumatologist who confirmed the stiff swollen joints, bone and muscle pains are definitely medication based, that I was coming off the cancer prevention drugs. I tried the Tamoxifen for 13 months and couldn't live with the side effects, it was agreed at the breast clinic that they would try me on Letrozole, this was as bad if not worse than the Tamoxifen, but in different ways, I tried it for 11 months, but cannot live like this. A quality of life is really important and every day my health improves validates my decision to stop the cancer drugs. I am hoping to be back to full health within the next  12 months. It has been a very trying two years on the drugs....and I honestly am very happy it is over. Now I have made the decision, I feel much lighter.

It has taken about 11 months from stopping the cancer drug to get somewhere near where I want to be, it has definitely been the correct decision for me, and I fully understand the risks that I am taking, however the joint, muscle and bone pains are now at a manageable level, even if I have to take painkillers to keep that level it is a far better place than where I was, struggling to get up and dress myself. I have been trying to control the high cholesterol through diet and no drugs. I came off them same time as the Letrozole. I will have a blood test done in the next few months to see if stopping the Letrozole and control through diet is working.

My mantra is :-  If I can physically do it, train for it, financially afford it, it will be happening.  A life with no regrets!  Every year I get the all clear will bring another big challenge and smaller fund-raising projects in between.

Thank you all for reading a snippet of my life so far!!

Tracy