Kerri Ince played hockey for Wales as a teenager and trained as a PE teacher. She wasn’t used to being overweight and was shocked to put on eight stone as a result of cancer treatment. But the weight was the least of her worries. The single mum from Bridgend endured five years of surgery, including a double mastectomy and having her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.
Returning to work eight months after the initial breast cancer diagnosis, when her son Isaac was two, Kerri, 42, organised all her operations to take place during the holidays.
Read more: The bleak picture of how bad cancer waiting times are in Wales
Just as the last operation took place in early 2020 the pandemic hit and her little boy was diagnosed with autism aged five. Looking back on the last few years Kerri said she wanted to keep going for her son and her students at Cardiff and Vale College.
The mum of one works with teenagers with learning difficulties, helping them find work placements. She said supporting other people helped her get through some dark times.
Remembering the moment she first noticed a lump on her breast in 2015 Kerri said she was at the GP the next day and having surgery within three weeks.
“I brushed my hand past my breast in the shower and noticed a lump. Three weeks later I was scheduled for a lumpectomy but when I got in they said the lump was too big so they sent me home and I went back next day for a single mastectomy and reconstruction.
“I had chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I lost my hair and put on eight stone due to the steroids. Then they did a genetic test and said I had a breast cancer gene on my dad’s side so advised me to have the other breast removed and my fallopian tubes and ovaries.”
During five gruelling years Kerri had six operations and breast reconstruction. She is now on the waiting list for a tummy tuck and more breast reconstruction.
“I still have another two stone of the eight to lose and then I will be down to my target weight of 12 stone,” she said, “Steroids and chemotherapy made me put on weight.
She said she came through “with love and support from my family and friends”. Kerri’s parents are nearby in Cardiff and dote on their grandson.
When Isaac was diagnosed with autism it was not entirely unexpected. It was something picked up as a possibility by the health visitor when he was a toddler.
“I was a first-time mum so I wasn’t sure, but the health visitor started picking it up when he was two," Kerri explained.. "He was a bit slower speaking and had sensory overload and liked routine and eventually he was diagnosed aged five.”
Describing her son as “an absolute sweetheart” Kerri says he goes to mainstream primary and shares her love of sport, playing rugby and football as well as horse riding. Her experience with her son’s autism has also helped her job. Kerri teaches teenagers with additional learning needs at Cardiff and Vale College. Many of her learners need support for personal development to make a transition from college into work.
Kerri, who has worked as a PE advisor for Rhondda Cynon Taf aswell as on the Btec courses run by Cardiff City FC Community Foundation, helped launch CAVC’s Project SEARCH, a flagship diversity and inclusion programme in Barry. The project provides supported internship placements for post-16 learners with autism and additional learning needs.
Kerri has now supported 64 managers and mentors working with over 70 interns in employers including Dow Silicones in Barry and Cardiff University.
She teaches her students employability skills helping them gain positions including lab technicians and administrators at Cardiff University, hospital porters at the University Hospital Wales and production operators.
“My job kept me going through my diagnosis. Going back to work was an escape from my surgeries,” she said, “I still fund my family and going to work made me feel I was moving forward.
“I feel lucky and privileged to still be here. I feel lucky to have a job that helps people and to be able to support others.”
Kerri’s work was recently recognised with a Further Education Award at the Inspire! Awards for Outstanding Tutors. The awards, run by Learning and Work Institute Wales, with support from the Welsh Government, recognises “outstanding individuals whose commitment, knowledge and communication skills have given adult learners the tools to transform their lives”.
The judges said: “Despite being diagnosed with cancer, Kerri returned to work after just eight months to support her young son who is diagnosed with autism. Kerri has a strong belief in the ability of learning to have a positive impact.”
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