A CARER 'lucky to be alive' after surviving cancer secured precious time with her mum thanks to vital research which gave her a new lease of life.
Amanda Price is now urging people to back research after it has been revealed that more than 100,000 lives have been saved in the West Midlands and Worcestershire since the mid-1980s.
The Malvern cancer survivor says she owes her life to Cancer Research UK and now wants to make sure others have the same opportunity.
The carer, who moved to Malvern from Fernhill Heath, says she’s 'lucky to be alive' after dismissing cancer symptoms as a sign of the menopause.
Miss Price, now 58, was diagnosed with an advanced form of endometrial cancer in December 2018 after her GP pushed for tests.
Data released by Cancer Research UK today reveals around 1.2 million deaths have been avoided in the UK since the mid-1980s due to advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Over the last four decades, UK cancer mortality rates have fallen by around a quarter, after peaking in 1985 for men and 1989 for women.
Had rates stayed the same, it is estimated that around 106,000 more lives would have been lost in the West Midlands and Worcester region.
Mrs Price is backing the charity’s Together We Are Beating Cancer campaign to help ensure life-saving progress like this continues.
Successful treatment meant she was able to continue caring for her mum Ross in Fernhill Heath before she died in May this year.
Now she has returned to work full-time and enjoys meeting friends and going to the gym.
Mrs Price, originally from West Bromwich, thought she was in the midst of her menopause when she was diagnosed with advanced endometrial cancer.
She’d just given up her job as a carer and moved to Fernhill Heath to look after her mum full-time.
Ten months earlier she dismissed heavy and irregular bleeding alongside tiredness as ‘normal’ body changes but, after a drop in energy levels and a dramatic increase in bleeding, she made an appointment to see the GP.
She was referred to hospital where she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, and a condition called complex hyperplasia (with atypia) which can sometimes develop into cancer.
She had a coil fitted which seemed to alleviate her symptoms and specialists reassured her that everything looked clear. But with a family history of cancer, her GP didn’t want to take any chances.
“I’m so grateful to my GP who wanted to continue investigations after I was discharged from hospital,” said Mrs Price.
“That led to me having a hysterectomy which I delayed for a month due to caring for mum.
“After the surgery I thought everything was ok until I received an email asking me to attend hospital four days before Christmas. That’s when I was told I had stage three cancer.
“I was completely shocked and worried about how I was going to look after mum during my treatment which I knew would be tough. I just wanted to be well for mum, so I focused on her."
She underwent eight months of treatment involving chemotherapy and two types of radiotherapy at Cheltenham Hospital, all while continuing to care for her mum.
A major part of her treatment was a drug called Carboplatin, discovered and developed by Cancer Research UK funded scientists.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here