Cassie's story

Cassie was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2023 after noticing a shape change in her breast whilst on holiday.

She received support from our partner, GenesisCare in Chelmsford before accessing all of Penny Brohn UK’s online support.

I’m 46 and a single mum to a 17 year old daughter who keeps me very busy. I work in the healthcare industry and I’ve always worked really closely with the NHS. I have two cats, Leo and Lily, and I have a dog called Mister.

I’m a keep fit fanatic, I love the theatre, spending time with friends, and being out in nature. I find it quite hard to keep still! I like going on holidays, I’ve just come back from Cyprus with my best friend and it was a very rested, wonderful holiday.

My diagnosis

I had noticed a shape change in my breast but I’d lost quite a lot of weight, so I put it down to that. Then a couple of months later, in July 2023 I was away with my daughter and my best friend on holiday and I noticed this shape had really changed dramatically. I had a boob uplift in 2015 so I know they were very symmetrical before. I came back from holiday and went to the doctors. She took one look at me and scared the life out of me because she said I need an urgent referral. It felt like time was starting to spin a lot faster than it normally does.

In August I was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer, and I had two tumours. I had a two and a half centimetre tumour by my nipple and an eleven millimetre tumour and I couldn’t feel either of them. My surgeon and consultant had to show me where they were and then I could feel them. I think that’s why sharing my story is really important, we do our checks and we’re looking for lumps and puckering of the skin etc, but the shape change still didn’t alert me at the time that it should have.

My treatment and my experience with the cold cap

I had eight rounds of chemotherapy and I cold capped the whole way through which meant I kept my hair, which was just incredible. And I still pray every day that I have it. It was challenging, but I committed to it and I had really good results. It is really painful and I understand it’s definitely not for everyone, but I found ways that I managed that first 45 minutes where the pain is really intense. I used a lot of meditation, something called marla beads, which is like a meditation bead, and some movement. I had a silk pillowcase, washed my hair differently and used different products.

I then had a mastectomy and reconstruction on my left breast during the same operation, which was nearly 10 hours. Then I had a week of quite intense radiotherapy, and I am now in a medical menopause which comes with a whole host of challenges.

The news, my friends and my family

Obviously, it was a big shock. I just couldn’t believe that it was happening to me. Two of my closest friends came with me on the day that I got told that it was cancer. I can’t actually remember any of that meeting at all. The only thing I really remember about that day was my best friend was standing behind me, and I just remember her massive gasp when he said it.

I had two weeks of feeling really lost, really angry, not really knowing what was happening to me. You have to hand over control of your body. I get very emotional just thinking about it. I was convinced I was going to die. Once you get into treatment, you are on this conveyor belt that just continues and continues and you don’t really have time to think about it.

I’m a single parent but I co parent with my daughters’ dad and we’re extremely good friends and we have been friends our whole lives. I called him, he lives in Ireland, and he got on the next plane, came over and stayed for eight months and he saw us both through. I was so grateful for that.

My friends were just incredible and I was surrounded and smothered in love and kindness. I’m quite an open person. I love really hard, I tell my friends I love them all the time. I’m always the one that people want to talk to when they’ve got problems, but all of a sudden I found it really hard to talk about it.

My friends look at me differently now. I see some of my friends glancing at me and just staring. They just say, you’re amazing. It’s brought us all a lot closer, which I’m really grateful for.

I didn’t realise how life changing it would be

I thought that life would turn back to normal. I feel like there is a Cassie before cancer and there is a Cassie after cancer. The cancer diagnosis was so bleak and dark in the beginning, but I’ve really found so much joy coming through the other side of this. I’ve really got to know myself and what my strengths are. There is this inner fire now that burns so bright and I notice things I never did before.

When Penny Brohn UK stepped in

I was very fortunate that through my company, I was able to access GenesisCare who showed me Penny Brohn UK. I did a twelve week exercise programme. It was almost like this little fairy godmother came and took me and said, here it is. It’s all here for you. And they just held me the whole way through. I had this wonderful meeting with someone from GenesisCare and I cried for an hour when they talked me through all the things that Penny Brohn UK could offer and the wonderful work that they do. I started taking advantage of everything that I could.

It felt like a beautiful gift of spending time with the GenesisCare staff and getting support there and understanding what Penny Brohn UK does. I just felt really held. I felt held at a time where you’re out of treatment and you feel like you’re just bobbing along, not really knowing what to do next. I felt a gap, and Penny Brohn UK certainly filled that gap for me and helped me to start navigating what life is like after cancer, and I know that they’re always there to help me.

It’s that one place where you can go and they signpost you to what you need, and that’s quite hard to find. There’s a language that needs to be used when you have had cancer or you’re coming in or out of treatment, and I think Penny Brohn UK have got that completely nailed. It’s like a hand holding. That’s the only way I can describe it. We’re here. Access us as much as you need, but we’re here. GenesisCare and Penny Brohn UK feel like family now.

It’s really important that more people know about Penny Brohn UK. The impact that it’s had on me has been so positive and I don’t stop telling people about the services now.

I set up an Instagram account called @allthebreast and my daughter designed the logo for me to start documenting my journey. I would really love for people to understand that Penny Brohn UK is free and there to help them. It’s great being around like-minded people, people that understand you, and Penny Brohn UK has some real experts, there’s great advice and you feel safe.

My hopes for the future

I finished radiation in May. I’ll be in remission for five to ten years. It still doesn’t sit right with me that they can’t give you the all clear. It’s easy to worry about every ache and pain. You have to try to remain positive and keep checking. If there’s anything that doesn’t feel right, you have to go and get it checked. I’m not a hypochondriac by any means, but I certainly won’t ever sit on anything again.

I’m focusing on having a really healthy lifestyle. I go back to work part time in August, which will be great because I’ve really missed my work family.

There’s also something else calling me now. I don’t know what it is, but that makes me feel quite excited for the future. I feel like I have a voice now, and I can talk through real life experience, and I think it’s really valuable. Life is a privilege, and I didn’t feel as passionately about that as I do now.

I just want to say thank you. Without Penny Brohn UK stepping up for people that have been affected by cancer I would have just been floating and feeling lost. They are so valuable and you’ll never understand how much it means to people that have been through a really tough time.

We’d like to thank each of our clients for sharing their experience. The words used in each case study are preferred by the client featured. Penny Brohn UK encourages everyone to use their own words to tell their story. If you have any questions about any of the language used, please email comms@pennybrohn.org.uk.