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Living to tell the tale
Lynn Griffiths discovered she had breast cancer aged 33 and has battled with three subsequent bouts of the disease in 10 years. Her husband Alan's unconditional support and her determination to live life in full have helped her to surviveI was 33 when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. I was a marathon runner, really fit, loved my work as a self-employed hairdresser in a holiday camp, and was happily married to my husband Alan, who is a clown and a magician.
Although there is a strong history of cancer in my family - three of my mum's sisters died young and two of my cousins have succumbed to the disease - it never occurred to me when I went to see my doctor that it would happen to me. I went more for peace of mind than anything.
After routine tests, the doctor said, 'I'm very sorry but you have already got it.' I actually laughed. I thought he was joking. Then the absolute shock and horror hit me.
He said my cancer was in the early stages but it was a very aggressive form. It's true that everybody's cancer is different, but in my case, my doctor's advice was that I should have a bi-lateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts), followed immediately by a breast reconstruction. He said if I followed this course of action, I'd be one hundred percent safe but that if I left it I would die.
Alan had come with me and we sat in the doctor's office looking at each other in total disbelief and shock. I said to the doctor, 'If it's in the early stages, can I spend six months preparing my body for the operation?'
He said yes, and so for the next six months Alan and I tried to live as normal a life as possible. I continued running, ate well, carried on working and learned about some really useful complementary cancer treatments.
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