"I'd missed the signs": Glaisdale woman shares details of breast cancer journey

The landlady at the Arncliffe Arms in Glaisdale, Yvonne Waddington, has bravely shared the details of her battle with breast cancer.

Yvonne, 57, discovered she had breast cancer in February 2020, having attended her first routine Mammogram.

The scan had shown a mass at the top of her chest, and she was quickly called back for further tests, within two weeks she saw a specialist who confirmed that it was breast cancer.

Yvonne said: “I had been poorly for quite a while, but I’d missed the signs.

“My left breast felt like it was on fire – it was hot all the time, and I had a red rash underneath it.

“I was tired all the time too, but I told myself that’s just what comes with running a pub.

“I’d had it for months, and by the time it was diagnosed, I was stage four.

“I began chemotherapy, I had about 30 lots altogether.

"It didn’t go well for the first couple of months, I lost my hair, my toenails, I had an upset stomach and was violently sick.

“I couldn’t eat because everything tasted revolting as I had ‘metal mouth’ and all food tasted metallic.

"But, on the bright side, my tumour halved in size and I was able to have surgery to remove it, followed by five weeks of radiotherapy, which was a breeze compared to the chemo.

"I was given the all clear.”

Yvonne continued to have yearly mammograms, getting the all clear on each occasion.

She attended her fifth one in September this year.

“Initially I was given the all-clear, “ she said. “But a phone call four days later said that the mammogram showed a different cancer at the back of my breast.”

“I wouldn’t have known it was there if I hadn’t had the mammogram,” she said. “Both times, my cancer has only been discovered because I had a mammogram.”

In October, Yvonne had surgery to remove her left breast.

"I felt alright about it,” she said. “It’s more the aftermath, I’m very numb and I’m healing still. But I’ve now had the all clear again.

“I don’t want reconstruction, but they’re going to make me a prosthetic to fit into my bra.”

Yvonne is well on the road to recovery, and eager to promote the benefits of going for a mammogram.

She said: “Please, please go for a mammogram and look out for the symptoms, because I didn’t know the signs, hopefully it will save your life.

“Now, I feel good, I’m still recovering, but I certainly feel a lot better than I did two months ago.

"If telling my story saves just one life then that’s job done.”

The Arncliffe Arms in Glaisdale will host a fundraising evening on Thursday, December 18 to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support who Yvonne described as “brilliant all the way through”.

The evening will include a quiz, raffle, “Brave the Shave” and more.

To find out more visit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100081801038490.