A moving and empowering reception
Published: 17 December 2012
Women affected by breast cancer, clinicians, health professionals, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and charity supporters joined Breakthrough Breast Cancer at Edinburgh’s architecturally inspiring garden lobby in the Scottish Parliament to launch October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) as well as to promote the Touch, Look, Check (TLC) message and early detection. Susanne Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer/Reader in Cancer Nursing, Edinburgh Napier University, forum steering committee member and an advisory board member for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Scotland reports.
Political speeches
Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie provided a warm introduction before Breakthrough Breast Cancer Chief Executive Chris Askew gave an informative overview of the charity’s work, spanning research, campaigning and education. This was followed by Alex Neil, the Scottish National Party’s Cabinet Secretary for Heath and Wellbeing. He outlined the Government’s strategy for cancer care and its current campaign focusing on Detect Breast Cancer Early.
Personal accounts
Two women provided the audience with an opportunity to reflect on breast cancer’s impact, and on the importance of raising awareness and early detection. One of the women shared a moving account of coping with a breast cancer diagnosis following a series of personal bereavements. Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s Scotland Director Audrey Birt also described her own journey, which she has shared separately in “Audrey’s blog” and which can be followed at Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s website.
One woman recalled making sense of her symptoms. She was 50:
“My right breast had been sore on and off for several months. I didn’t associate this with cancer as none of my friends had complained of soreness when they were diagnosed with breast cancer. And I also thought breast cancer had to run in families, and it hadn’t in mine. One day at work I mentioned the soreness to a friend who had been a breast cancer sufferer; she immediately made me contact my own doctor – I was diagnosed with breast cancer.”
The kindness of a nurse was also highlighted:
“I would like to finish with telling you about the extra mile one of the nurses in theatre went to. I take with me a special photo of my late husband. This sits by my bed every night. When I got to theatre I was very frightened and upset. Leaving his photo beside my bed in the ward when they came to take me to theatre upset me. One of the theatre nurses asked if she could help. I told her about the photo and she rang the ward and asked them to bring it to theatre. I went to sleep with his photo under my left hand and I awoke with it under my left hand. This meant the world to me.”
On the day...
Audrey also spoke about the “one-day” fundraiser whereby supporters are asked to choose the day they wish to raise money to fund one day of research. It can be a birthday, the day of a diagnosis, perhaps when someone close was lost to the disease. Maybe it’s the day of the all-clear or other good news? Following a short video of women sharing their day, the room was filled with a sense that many of the audience also wanted to share their day with others – I know I did. Further information about the “one-day” fundraiser can be found on the organisation’s “One Day” webpage.