Cork woman: Telling them mum had cancer was tough

WHEN Natalie Cambridge discovered a lump in her breast in 2016 at the age of 41, she was dumbstruck.

She got good advice. Her husband Dermot encouraged his wife to get the lump checked out without any delay.

“I booked in to see the GP, who felt it was regular breast tissue,” says Natalie, who lives in Whites Cross, Cork.

She put any thought of cancer to one side.

“I put it to the back of my mind, but months later I felt the lump getting bigger.

“As time passed, it became so big I knew I had to get further checks. The lump was the size of a Kinder egg.”

Natalie went back to her GP.

“I was then referred on for a triple assessment in the hospital where they told me to come back later for results.”

The news wasn’t good.

“They said ‘unfortunately it’s not good news. You have breast cancer’.”

How did Natalie react to this devastating news?

I was totally taken aback by the words.

“I sat there with tears flowing from my eyes.”

She sought solace.

“I called to my parents’ house with Dermot to tell them the news. I will never forget the look on my dad’s face. He was heartbroken.

“In 48 hours, our lives had been turned upside down.”

Natalie had to be strong for her sons’ sake.

“I then went to my own home to my three boys,” says Natalie.

“Dermot called them all into the kitchen. He said, ‘we’ve something to tell you.’ The boys were oblivious to what was coming.

“They thought we had won the Lotto or something,” says Natalie.

How did they take the news?

“Telling them that mum had breast cancer was so tough, but I tried to be strong for them,” says Natalie.

“I tried to reassure them that I would be fine. My little one, Billy, was so afraid, he wouldn’t even go to sleepovers with friends anymore. He was worried what would happen if he left.”

Following further tests, Natalie’s doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to all the lymph nodes under her arm.

“It was decided therefore that I would begin with AC chemotherapy,” says Natalie.

AC chemotherapy includes the drugs doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adriamycin) and Cyclophosphamide, followed by treatment with paclitaxel (Taxol). Also called AC-T and AC-T regimen.

The treatment took its toll.

“I would get chemo; in the morning and by 4pm the same day, I would be so unwell,” says Natalie. “This could continue until halfway into the next week. 

I would just start to recover when I would begin my next chemo session. It was like that for six months.

Natalie went through the mill.

“As sick as I was, I tried not to stay in bed,” says Natalie.

“Instead, I would even just lay on the couch. It made me feel a little bit better.”

It made the boys feel a little bit better too.

“If I stayed in bed, they knew I was very sick,” says Natalie. “Seeing me on the couch when they came in from school or college, it made them feel a bit better.”

Natalie didn’t feel better.

“I was so sick, I’d say ‘God, take me now’. The constant sickness was terrible. I did have OK days in between treatment and my friends and neighbours were so kind.”

Natalie did her best to get on with things.

“I met with a wig specialist,” she says. “She told me from her experience from the first day of chemo, I would have 18 days until my hair would fall out. It was incredible. On the 18th day that’s when it happened. She was right.

“I ended up booking in with her to have my hair shaved. I seldom wore the wig my parents bought me. All I can say is that my hair has grown back, but at the time it was just another blow. Another trauma.”

Cancer wasn’t done with the family yet.

“During this time, my sister Pamela called over to my house. She said, ‘I know you have so much on your plate, but I have just found this lump on my breast’. I told her she had to go and get it checked out as soon as she could,” says Natalie.

It turned out that she too had breast cancer. She found hers early, so she didn’t need chemotherapy. Thankfully, she is now doing well.

Natalie wasn’t done with chemotherapy yet.

“Once I finished my AC chemo, I began my Taxol treatment,” she says.

How did that go?

“Following my third session of Taxol I ended up having an allergic reaction, so instead I was booked in for 13 sessions of Abraxane.”

Natalie wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“After this, I was booked in for my surgery. Unfortunately, I had another allergic reaction, possibly something to do with the anaesthetic.

“A few weeks later after I recovered the hospital rang to say my margins weren’t clear, so I had to come back for more surgery.”

Was Natalie done then?

“No, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to do more surgery,” says Natalie.

“This time round though they tweaked the anaesthetic. Thankfully, this worked and I wasn’t sick following that surgery.”

Was she done worrying?

“Initially, I had asked Professor O’Reilly if I was going to die? His answer was, ‘I don’t know.’”

Next up was Natalie’s radiation treatment.

“It went relatively smoothly,” says Natalie. “As my radiation treatment was coming to an end, I was asked if I’d take part in a trial drug for 12 months. I thought it would be a good way to give back and I felt if it helped someone down the road it would be worth it.

“I don’t know if I was given a placebo drug or not, but I was definitely experiencing a bit of nausea from it.

“In many respects, I was happy still to be monitored by doctors so that I knew nothing else was wrong.

“It was reassuring. And I know the trial drug did good work and shrank tumours.”

Professor O’Reilly could reassure Natalie.

“The treatment has done its work, he said. “10 years ago, I may not have survived.”

Natalie had another caring man in her corner helping her to get better.

“I have to say through the whole experience my husband was incredible,” she says. “For a guy who couldn’t boil an egg, he really rallied round me and the kids.

I don’t know what I’d do without all the support.

Natalie is one of the lucky ones.

“I say I was so lucky. Others would question this. But I’m still here. I’m so very lucky.”

Natalie may be lucky but she’s not quite the same after her cancer journey.

“I don’t know if you’d ever be the same,” she says. “I haven’t been the same since. Cancer changes you. And if you feel pain or a twinge, you think something might be wrong.”

Natalie has changed her mind about things.

“Don’t put anything off,” she advises. “There is no guarantee for tomorrow.”

She is enjoying all her tomorrows.

“I’m back at work. All is good.

“There was a time I couldn’t even put on the kettle for a cup of tea.”

Natalie says Daffodil Day is an important event.

“All the research into cancer and cancer treatments being carried out is so positive,” says Natalie.

“The free services that the Irish Cancer Society provide are incredible.”

Natalie will be 50 in December. She doesn’t have to wait for life to begin at 50.

“Life is good now.”

Daffodil Day takes place on March 22. See https://www.cancer.ie/daffodilday for how you can get involved