A mum-of-two has told how she is making the most of the life she has left having been dealt the devastating blow of a terminal breast cancer diagnosis.
Roisin Pelan, 42, was told she had just three years to live — six years ago.
Since then, the entrepreneur from Preston in Lancashire has defied the odds and fulfilled a string of ambitions, from trekking in the Alps to writing a children’s book and, most remarkably, adopting a baby boy.
Ms Pelan, who also started a cancer charity, says she has written a ‘living list’, which is stuck to her wall and has ‘lots’ she still wants to do.
She hopes her story will give strength others in seemingly bleak situations.
Roisin Pelan, 42, was told she had just three years to live — six years ago. Since then, the entrepreneur from Preston in Lancashire has defied the odds and fulfilled a string of ambitions, from trekking in the Alps to writing a children’s book and, most remarkably, adopting a baby boyMs Pelan, who also started a cancer charity, says she has written a ‘living list’, which is stuck to her wall and has ‘lots’ she still wants to do. She hopes her story will give strength others in seemingly bleak situations. Pictured, Roisin Pelan, 42, husband Michael, 39, daughter Ivy, 10, and little boy BillMs Pelan first realised something was wrong when she discovered a lump in her left breast in 2014, when she was pregnant with her daughter. After a GP referral, she was diagnosed with breast cancer — and chemotherapy saw the disease put into remission. Four years later, however, she saw her oncologist regarding pain she’d been experiencing in both arms and behind her breasts. Pictured, Roisin Pelan with her daughter Ivy in 2018Given her cancer could be treated but not cured, Ms Pelan had already created a ‘living list’ of everything she wanted to do before she died. The term is a spin on ‘bucket list’ — so-called because it refers to things a person wishes to accomplish before they ‘kick the bucket’. Despite ticking a number of goals off, Ms Pelan insists she still got ‘lots’ she wants to do — including ‘manifesting an Oasis reunion so I can go to their gig’
Ms Pelan first realised something was wrong when she discovered a lump in her left breast in 2014, when she was pregnant with her daughter.
After a GP referral, she was diagnosed with breast cancer — and chemotherapy saw the disease put into remission.
Four years later, however, she saw her oncologist regarding pain she’d been experiencing in both arms and behind her breasts.
She was told initially it may have been nerve damage. But three days, she found a lump.
Scans later showed her cancer had returned and spread, meaning it was now incurable.
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However in 2022, thanks to further treatment, she was told she had ‘no evidence of the disease’.
Given her cancer could be treated but not cured, Ms Pelan had already created a ‘living list’ of everything she wanted to do before she died.
The term is a spin on ‘bucket list’ — so-called because it refers to things a person wishes to accomplish before they ‘kick the bucket’.
Despite ticking a number of goals off, Ms Pelan insists she still got ‘lots’ she wants to do — including ‘manifesting an Oasis reunion so I can go to their gig’.
She hopes to camp in a treehouse, go to New York at Christmas and swim in Bora Bora.
She said: ‘I made a “living list” after I was diagnosed — it’s so much more fun than a bucket list.
‘I’ve managed to tick so much stuff off already — I can’t even remember everything.
‘I wrote a children’s book, called “Shiny Happy Horace”. I trekked the Alps, the Highlands and in Yorkshire.
‘I helped to form a charity with 20 others — there are only 13 of us now. I’ve got my list on the wall.’
She added: ‘I started a little business, Flighty Pants, which is a gift shop for people with cancer aimed at getting them through treatment.
She said: ‘I made a “living list” after I was diagnosed — it’s so much more fun than a bucket list. ‘I’ve managed to tick so much stuff off already — I can’t even remember everything. I wrote a children’s book, called “Shiny Happy Horace”. I trekked the Alps, the Highlands and in Yorkshire’One in seven women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime — around 56,000 a year — making it the most common cancer in the UK. The figure stands at roughly 300,000 annually in the USSymptoms of breast cancer to look out for include lumps and swellings, dimpling of the skin, changes in colour, discharge and a rash or crusting around the nipple
‘We’ve done a road trip to the south of France.
‘But I still want to road trip around Canada and New Zealand in an RV. I want to take the glass train in Switzerland.’
One in seven women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime — around 56,000 a year — making it the most common cancer in the UK.
The figure stands at roughly 300,000 annually in the US.
Between 85 to 90 per cent of women diagnosed with primary breast cancer survive more than five years.
Am I eligible for a mammogram?
Women aged 50 to 71 are advised to have a breast screening every three years.
Women who are registered with a GP will be sent a letter inviting them.
At the appointment, X-rays called mammograms check the breasts for signs of cancer.
Results will be sent out in a letter, usually within two weeks. It will set out whether there is no sign of cancer or if further tests are needed.
Breast screening saves around 1,300 lives each year in the UK.
The chance of getting breast cancer increases with age and most are diagnosed in women aged over 50.
However, secondary breast cancer — or stage four — which accounts for around 16 per cent of all breast cancers in the UK and US, is far more difficult.
It means the cancer, that started in the breast has spread to another part of the body, commonly the liver, lungs, brain or bones.
Around a quarter of women with secondary breast cancer will survive their cancer for five years or more after they are diagnosed, according to Cancer Research UK.
Recalling her heartbreaking 2018 diagnosis, she said: ‘I felt utter despair — I couldn’t accept that I would have to leave my baby girl.
‘I remember saying over and over, “I can’t leave Ivy, I can’t.”
‘It was the worst pain and most desperate time in my life — I was heartbroken.’
Over the course of 10 years, Ms Pelan has undertaken more than 60 rounds of chemotherapy — and five types of medication like vinorelbine and paclitaxel.
At the time of her diagnosis in 2018, she and her husband, Michael, 39, an illustrator, were already planning on adopting a second child.
But she claimed her oncologist couldn’t give social services clearance until he was more confident in her prognosis.
Ms Pelan said: ‘We’d been approved to adopt before I was diagnosed.
‘We were waiting to match, but after my cancer was confirmed, the oncologist said it wasn’t going to be possible.
‘All my treatment happened — carboplatin, taxotere, paclitaxel [three types of chemotherapy medication], surgery and radiotherapy.
‘I did all I could to help myself naturally with herbal remedies, including hyperbaric chamber therapy — which felt like being in a submarine.’
After her oncologist was pleased with her progress in 2019, she claimed social services were given clearance to allow her and her husband adopt.
Over the course of 10 years, Ms Pelan has undertaken more than 60 rounds of chemotherapy — and five types of medication like vinorelbine and paclitaxel. At the time of her diagnosis in 2018, she and her husband, Michael, 39, an illustrator, were already planning on adopting a second child. Pictured, Roisin Pelan with daughter IvyWhile her cancer remains incurable, as long as she’s able to ‘thrive’, Ms Pelan said she intends to complete her list, which is expanding every day. Pictured, Roisin Pelan in hospital with new born IvyChecking your breasts should be part of your monthly routine so you notice any unusual changes. Simply rub and feel from top to bottom, in semi-circles and in a circular motion around your breast tissue to identify any abnormalities
She said: ‘I was walking up a mountain, when social services rang.
‘I couldn’t hear them properly and I ran all the way down — just so I could hear them say they were approving me for adoption.’
Roisin brought six-month-old Bill home in September 2019, and continued writing her ‘living list’.
While her cancer remains incurable, as long as she’s able to ‘thrive’, Ms Pelan said she intends to complete her list, which is expanding every day.
She also intentionally doesn’t ask about her prognosis anymore. However, she claims her oncologist is confident she’ll see Ivy and Bill into adulthood.
Ms Pelan added: ‘[The list] is a way for me to remind myself to always seek out the fun and adventure in my one, and wonderful, life.
‘I want to look back one day and say to myself, “what a wonderful life you had”.’
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
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