A woman has been left devastated to discover her mother has breast cancer – just a week after she completed gruelling treatment for the same disease.
Amberley Kent, 24, experienced an ‘awful’ past year after undergoing chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy to treat her cancer.
But after completing treatment, she ‘was quickly brought back to square one’ after finding out her mother, Cathy had been hit with the disease.
Cathy, from Peterborough, who looked after her daughter throughout her horrifying ordeal, is now currently on her second round of chemotherapy.
Miss Kent, diagnosed in June last year, has today spoke of the heartbreaking week of March 1 – when she was told there no further sign of the disease – for the first time.
Amberley Kent, 24, experienced an ‘awful’ past year after undergoing cancer treatment. But after completing treatment, she ‘was quickly brought back to square one’ after finding out her mother, Cathy had been hit with the disease (pictured together during Amberley’s treatment)
Amberley was told she had invasive ductal breast cancer, also known as ‘no special type’ because the cells cannot be identified as a specific type (pictured during treatment)
She said: ‘It was horrible, because just as we were celebrating my tests results we were quickly brought back to square one again.
‘When my mum got her tests results it was the worst news to hear. Our happiness was short lived. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let alone my mum.
‘And I think it is even worse for her because she has seen everything first hand with me, she knows what she is about to go through.
‘It just brings you back down to earth because I know the awful journey she is about to experience.’
Amberley was told she had invasive ductal breast cancer, also known as ‘no special type’ because the cells cannot be identified as a specific type.
After receiving intense treatment, she was told on March 1 there was no sign of the disease – but her mother was diagnosed the following week.
Cathy, 52, found she had invasive lobular carcinoma, which is a type of breast cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands.
Doctors have since branded the situation as rare for it to have happened to both of them – even though there is no evidence that their cancers are hereditary.
After receiving intense treatment, she was told on March 1 there was no sign of the disease – but her mother was diagnosed the following week (pictured in hospital receiving treatment)
Amberley eventually had to stop working as she experienced every side effect that is listed for her treatment including – sore mouth, aching body and fatigue (pictured wearing her wig, left)
Cathy, from Peterborough, who looked after her daughter throughout her horrifying ordeal, is now currently on her second round of chemotherapy (pictured together)
Around 55,000 women are struck down with breast cancer in the UK each year – making it the most common form of the disease.
Three quarters of patients survive 10 years – but this rate drops dramatically if the disease is spotted later.
Speaking of her mother’s chemotherapy, marketing worker Amberley said: ‘She’s finding it quite tough – the smallest things make you tired.
‘She finds it hard because even when she just wants to make herself a cup of tea she can find it hard to get off the sofa. I’m trying to help mum through it, but it’s brutal.
It is horrible to witness, when I was with her getting the results I just knew it was bad as soon as she walked in from getting her results.’
Amberley, who described the past year as a roller coaster of emotions, added: ‘I just saw the look on her face and just knew.’
‘But we are a positive family, it is stressful but we can get through it.’
Amberley has now decided to start raising money for research charity Breast Cancer Now, including a charity ball next month.
Amberley said: ‘When my mum got her tests results it was the worst news to hear. Our happiness was short lived. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let alone my mum’
Cathy, 52, found she had invasive lobular carcinoma, which is a type of breast cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands (pictured together)
She added: ‘I want to raise as much money as possible to help women out there. We will find a cause.’
Amberley said she didn’t have any major warning signs to make her think she had breast cancer.
She explained how she was constantly ill with cold and flu symptoms – but never thought anything of it.
Her fears escalated when she discovered a lump in her breast during a shower. She thought it was just tissue, but asked her boyfriend, Dan, for a second opinion.
Amberley, who has now been with Dan for around 18 months, said: ‘He said I should just go and get a check up anyway.
‘It was hard back then because we were only together for a short amount of time and at that point and I didn’t want to seem like I had a default.’
But she said her boyfriend was her rock and helped her through the worst of times. She said: ‘It was hard because I was not expecting anything.
‘And the doctors kept saying to me it’s extremely unlikely because of my age. So it was a real shock to the system because I had convinced myself that it was nothing.’
Amberley eventually had to stop working as she experienced every side effect that is listed for her treatment including – sore mouth, aching body and fatigue.
She said: ‘You never know how bad it is going to be until it hits you. I really did try and keep going but some days I couldn’t move.
‘I didn’t want to stop working or anything, I just wanted to keep going but until you go through, you have no idea what it’s going to feel like and how it will bring you down.’