Lorraine Baxter Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom Amazon Heart Thunder United Kingdom 2007 Experienced Rider   Click Here to Donate Now!

My name is Lorraine, I am 48 and a Registered nurse, working as a Charge Nurse in a busy Acute Receiving and Assessment unit in the Western General Hospital. I have been a Charge Nurse for 20 + years, over seeing the care of patients coming into my unit. I have always been proud of the fact that i work in the W.G.H.as it has an excellent reputation. However i never expected to have to put it to the test!!

In August 2003 I went on a girls holiday to Tenerife. I was lying on the beach putting on suntan lotion when i experienced some pain on the left side of my left breast, it was difficult to identify if there was a lump underneath as I had always had "lumpy breasts" and had been diagnosed at the age of 24 with what was called then, fibro cystic disease. My periods were also due and i put it down to that (big mistake). Three months later the pain was still there and by this time i thought i could feel a small lump. My G.P. was great and referred me to the Breast Unit at the W.G.H. even although he couldn't find anything on examination. I had my mamogram on the 31st Dec, and on the 9th Jan 2005 I was given the dreadful news that i had wide- spread D.C.I.S.(Ductal Cancer In Situ), a pre cancerous condition in itself but mine had already become cancerous and had spread into the surrounding breast tissue at three sites, the smallest of these was only 6mm but was the cause of the pain i had been having. My much younger sister, Shona is a Midwife and was working from the W.G.H. that day. I went to tell her my results and found out that she had just learned that she had miscarried at 10 weeks pregnant. January the 9th was not a good day for my family. I had a radical mastectomy with nodal clearance and reconstruction at the end of Jan, followed by 6 months chemotherapy and initially was to be on Tamoxifen for 5 years. After 18 months i was switched to Anastrazole as the treatment had brought about an early menopause.

It was important for me to take back some control while having treatment so i decided to do the Race For Life and started going to the Gym in preparation for this. I enrolled the help of a personal trainer, Katie, who didn't just help with my training but provided emotional support and encouragement all the way through my treatment. On the day of the race ( a very emotional one) I was joined not just by Katie, but my great friends Jane and Kim and my sister. Shona had not managed to enrole in the race but she ran along side me, sharing my number and when everything threatened to overwhelm me she told me she was pregnant again. Andrew my nephew was born on the 1st Feb 2005.

My husband George, supportive and loving as always, played a huge part in my recovery, it was he who took me to the Harley Davidson dealership and persuaded me to get the bike i had always dreamed off and he who encouraged me to join the Edinburgh Chapter on a trip to St. Tropez for the European Harley Davidson Rally, despite the fact I had only been back to biking for 6 months after a 16 year gap. It was exactly what my confidance needed, I had a great time and met many friends. George has since done his direct access and now owns his own Harley and we continue to get out on our bikes when we can.

I cannot thank enough my family and friends for all their love and support during my illness. The care provided by the Breast Unit and Oncology dept. at the W.G.H. was second to none, and you passed all tests with flying colours!!

When I found out about this ride and its purpose last year i was determined to participate in this years event. Its vital that we continue to raise the profile of this disease and to provide encouragement and support for everyone out there going through a similar experience.

The moral of this story is; dont wait, go and see your G.P if you have a concern: and get out there and live your dream--- this is no dress rehearsal.

Thanks for taking the time to read this story and for all your donations.

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