A woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer thanks to a friend’s Facebook post says her recovery is down to a group of strangers around the world who helped her through sleepless nights and gruelling chemotherapy treatment. Globe trotter Fiona Kane, 56, a former analyst from Richmond in London, found a lump on her breast in January 2020 thanks to a neighbour’s Facebook post urging their friends to check their breasts.
Starting treatment in February 2020, Fiona underwent a double mastectomy before starting chemotherapy just a month later in April during the UK lockdown as the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Feeling alone and isolated she turned to community app, Belong: Beating cancer together, connecting cancer patients across the globe for support.
Leaning on her support system, Fiona picked up tricks to ease the side affects of her chemotherapy whilst also finding friendship, connecting with fellow patients during sleepless nights and post-surgery treatment – crediting the community with helping her through her treatment. “It was tough having chemotherapy during lockdown,” said Fiona.
“The app has gotten me through the last two years. It carried me when I thought I couldn’t do it. It was invaluable connecting with people in similar circumstances and their advice helped my journey.”
An avid traveller, Fiona had returned from a whirlwind tour around South East Asia in December 2019, but a few weeks later she was prompted to check her breasts by a neighbour’s Facebook post. “I had just come back from holiday visiting Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand,” explained Fiona.
“A year earlier my neighbour had been diagnosed with breast cancer. So she had posted on Facebook saying, ‘Come on, ladies, it’s time to check your breasts.’ I thought well I’ll check them today and that’s when I found the lump.”
After finding a lump, Fiona contacted her doctor and was quickly admitted for further tests. “I found the lump on the Friday and managed to see my GP on the Monday,” she said.
“She then referred me to Harley Street clinic in London for further tests. I was lucky as at the time I had private healthcare so it was very quick.”
Diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer in her right breast and non-invasive ductal carcinoma in her left breast, Fiona was immediately booked for a double mastectomy.
“The surgeon said we had to move straight away. There was no negotiation, the right breast was coming off,” explained Fiona.
“But the left breast was really down to my decision, because I did have cancer there it was covered by my insurance.”
She added: “I decided on a double mastectomy just to give me that peace of mind. Then I had to go in a couple of weeks later to have my lymph nodes removed.
“I had four taken out overall and two on the right were positive so they had to accelerate my treatment. I’m not entirely sure that I was processing anything, I was just putting one foot in front of the other at the time.”
And on April 23 2020, Fiona started gruelling chemotherapy during lockdown. “I started chemotherapy on my father’s birthday,” she said. We were all in lockdown, so I wasn’t seeing anybody and that was quite hard.”
She added: “I literally had my surgery, saw my parents twice a day after my surgery and then a few weeks later I never saw them again until much later on.”
Isolated during her treatment during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fiona turned to app Belong: Beating Cancer Together for support. “It connected me with people who had the same breast cancer diagnosis,” explained Fiona.
She added: “Around 15% of breast cancers are lobular, so it was good to find other people because I didn’t have much information about it.”
Connecting with fellow patients across the globe, Fiona formed friendships as well as picking up important tips to ease the side affects of her chemotherapy. “There was always someone online when I was wide awake at three o’clock in the morning,” she said.
She added: “That was something I always looked forward to that made the treatment more bearable as I wasn’t seeing my family.”
And Fiona found their advice invaluable. “I found a lot of tips helpful,” explained Fiona.
She added: “I think someone recommended an anti-inflammatory diet. So I started to eliminate different foods to see what impacted me and taking gluten and sugar out was almost instantaneous.
“It really helped me to look at what people suggested. Little things that you can change can make a big difference, but only if you’re open to them.”
And now Fiona is in remission. “I now have six-monthly scans,” explained Fiona. “I no longer have advanced mammograms because of my mastectomy but they still check the area where the tissue was.
“I had a test that gives you the likelihood of reoccurrence and I slotted into the very high. My risk of recurrence is reduced significantly by taking hormone blockers, but I still have to be vigilant.”
However, Fiona still checks in on the community that kept her strong during the hardest months of her life. “If I haven’t seen anyone post for a while, I might message them to see how they’re doing,” she said.
“I just check in to make sure they are ok. There’s a few characters on there and they are really helpful.”
And after leaving her job as an analyst Fiona has found a love for upcycling furniture. “I’m not working anymore as chemotherapy fried my brain,” she said.
“I do some volunteering where we recycle furniture. It’s something completely unrelated to what I did for a living.”
She added: “It gives me a great deal of joy. I’ll get a wardrobe that nobody loved and then I do something and it’s sold almost straight away. Plus it really helps the people who need it.”
Keen to start travelling again, Fiona is now planning a once in a lifetime trip to India in 2023. “I’ve been very lucky and have travelled the world,” she said.
“I was supposed to go to India in November 2020 but flights and the trip just didn’t work. So I went through Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand instead.
“I then came back expecting to plan my India trip and then diagnosis happened. So I’ve been patiently waiting for the world to calm down a bit so that I can go to India for a big trip. The idea is to go early next year if I can.”
Dr Daniel Vorobiof, chief medical director of Belong, confirms community is at the heart of recovery. He said: “When a cancer diagnosis strikes, it can leave a person with different feelings, such as loneliness, confusion and anxiety.
“Digital patient communities can provide help, information, tips and most importantly social and emotional support as cancer patients, their families and caregivers navigate through this difficult and sometimes exhausting journey.”
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