Win a York Wedding Competition - Press Releases - 100% of proceeds go to MacMillan Breast Care Nurses of York

Date: 8 June 2010
For Immediate Release

Angela Grinham, of Poppleton, gets her life back on track after breast cancer

By Richard Catton, York Press

GOOD fortune is not something normally associated with breast cancer, but lucky is how one York mother describes herself as she looks back over the 12 months since she was given the news every woman dreads. “I consider myself lucky – very lucky,” says Angela Grinham. “I think somebody must have been looking down on me. I wake up every day and thank God I’m all right.”

Angela’s story is like millions of others; 14 months ago she was getting on with her life as an accounts clerk and being a mother to her 19-year-old daughter Emma at their Poppleton home. Nobody ever schedules breast cancer into their life, but that is what Angela, and her partner, Jon, had to do when she discovered a lump in her left breast in March last year – a discovery which turned her life upside down from that moment.

Although very much a private person before that day, Angela now wants to tell the story of her treatment, mastectomy and breast reconstruction over the past year to prove that the condition is beatable. Angela also speaks frankly about the complex process of surgically rebuilding a breast and how it certainly is not a case of having “a free boob job on the NHS”. “I was very private before this,” she said. “I didn’t want to discuss this with anyone, I didn’t want to find things out. You are frightened of what the next step will be. “When I first found out I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was the most frightened person in the world, if only for my daughter. I still feel a little frightened now. Cancer is a terrible thing for anybody.”

Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer, and one week later treatment began and tough decisions had to be made. “They could have taken the lump out,” she said. “But in my case they said it would be better to have the whole breast taken away because I was small-breasted. I didn’t speak – I just sat there and cried. Jon discussed with the doctor what he thought and we decided to go with what the doctor said, which was to have a mastectomy. “I was lucky to have Jon support me, but having one boob is dreadful to cope with. You look in the mirror and feel dreadful because any woman wants to look nice. It took me ages to look in the mirror – it took three months to do that or even touch myself. Something that should have been there just wasn’t.”

Unlike many women who face the removal of a breast, Angela decided not to have the reconstruction surgery at the same time as her treatment. She took the decision to focus completely on beating the cancer, and her recovery, before once again undergoing surgery. “I had the first operation nine weeks ago,” she said. “What they did was put something called a tissue expander in the area where the breast had been. When they take your breast away it’s completely flat. They open up the same scar and they put this bag in then they fill it with saline solution. Every few weeks they inject more saline into it, which builds muscle and stretches the skin. At the moment I am stretched to the limit because they have just put another 50ml in. There are other options for breast reconstruction, but this one was the best for me.”

Angela said the pain of the process had sometimes been so bad that she had questioned her decision to go ahead with it. “It’s painful,” she said. “But I am sitting here now with boobs.” “I’m a bit lop-sided at the moment but when it’s reached the size it needs to be they will take the bag out and replace it with silicone and they are going to put silicone in the other side, too, so they will match up. The level of skill which goes in to surgically recreating the breast is incredible. Doctors add the finishing touches by using tattoo techniques to create a nipple on the reconstructed breast.

Angela said: “I was very squeamish about that at first, but then my nurse introduced me to a woman who had taken the same options as me and she looked perfect. People who aren’t in the know say things to me like, ‘What’s your new boob like?’ and you don’t want to moan, but I have a long way to go. It’s a process that doesn’t happen in one go.”

Scientists in the United States have just announced a major breakthrough in the development of producing a breast cancer vaccine. Tests on laboratory mice have so far produced promising results; one of the scientists working on the project said he believes breast cancer will become a preventable disease. However, the wheels of medical research turn painfully slowly and it may be a decade until a drug is available. Until that day, Angela knows that the best way to beat breast cancer is to catch it early.

“It all comes down to checking yourself and early diagnosis,” she said. “It should be part of an everyday routine.

“If I am really honest, when I found the lump I spoke to some of the girls at work who said I should go to the doctors and I said I would go later. I said I had shopping to do, but within ten days of going to the doctors my life had changed. “Everybody is different and people react differently. There are different forms of breast cancer, too."

“The best thing you can do is get to the doctors as soon as possible and then listen to him and do as he tells you.”

Meanwhile, Angie Grinham, of Upper Poppleton, has been put forward as Charity Fundraiser Of The Year by her friend, Angela Shepherd. Since being diagnosed with breast cancer last year, Angie has been determined to give something back to the Macmillan breast cancer care nurses at York Hospital who supported her during her treatment.

Angie Grinham: “a lovely and very brave lady”

She originally intended just to make a cake and raffle it off to raise money, but when her colleagues in the wedding industry heard what she was doing, many of them wanted to help too. She now has a spectacular wedding package on offer worth £15,000 and has set up an online raffle, which will be drawn in October at a charity ball she has also organised. Angela said: “She has done all this despite the fact she is still recovering from her illness and has recently undergone reconstructive breast surgery.

“She is a lovely and very brave lady, and has worked very hard to try to make the Win A York Wedding campaign a great success – not for herself, but because she is so grateful to the Macmillan nurses.”

ENDS

Date: 9 February 2010

For immediate release

A York breast cancer patient is organising a huge prize draw and grand charity ball to say “thank you” to the staff at York Hospital who have been helping her through her illness.

Angie Grinham, owner of The Cake Boutique (York), originally intended just to make a cake and raffle it in aid of the Macmillan Breast Cancer Nurses; but when her contacts in the wedding industry heard what she was doing many of them wanted to help too – with the result that she is now able to offer a prize consisting of a spectacular package of wedding services worth around ten thousand pounds!

The lucky winner will receive almost everything they need for a fabulous wedding day, including a dress, menswear, a car, photography, flowers, a cake, stationery, favours, hair and beauty services, plus help from a wedding planner to organise everything. Angie is also hoping that local companies will come forward to offer a honeymoon and rings. The prize can be used by those celebrating civil and vow renewal ceremonies as well as weddings.

Tickets for the draw cost £5 and are available from now until October, with all proceeds going directly to the Macmillan breast cancer care nurses in York. They can be bought online and at various wedding events over the next few months. The winner’s name will be drawn at a fabulous charity ball to be held at the Park Inn on Saturday 9^th October.

The competition will be officially launched at a Wedding Showcase at the Park Inn in York on Sunday 7^th March. The event, which runs from 11 am until 4 pm, will also feature performances by York dance school Dance Factory. Entry costs £2, which will be donated to the trust; or for a donation of £5 visitors will also receive a prize draw ticket.

Angie says “I had intended to make a small gesture myself to show my appreciation for the treatment I’d received at York Hospital and give something back. But when my friends in the wedding world found out about my little raffle, they were only too happy to offer their own contributions and things just snowballed! To do justice to the amazing prize and raise as much money as possible we then decided to run the draw over several months and top it off with a ball. It’s an amazing opportunity for any couple getting married in 2011”.

On a more serious note, Angie adds “As well as raising money for the Macmillan nurses I’d also love it if we could raise awareness of the great work the cancer care staff do at York Hospital, especially the fantastic specialist nurses. I really can’t emphasise how much they have helped me and so many other people. Being diagnosed with cancer is very scary, both for yourself and your family. You feel really vulnerable, but don’t always want to burden your loved ones with your concerns, so it was really comforting to know there was – and still is – somebody I can speak to at any time if I need to”.

For further details on the prize draw or to buy a ticket visit the website at www.winayorkwedding.co.uk. Anyone who feels they may be able to donate a honeymoon or rings to the package should email Angela at info@cakeboutiqueyork.co.uk.

Cake Boutique York Owner with the Breast Cancer Care Nurses in York

Photo captions:

1. Angie Grinham (centre) with breast cancer nurses Carol Lintott (right) and Tina Grant (left).

2. Angie Grinham (right) with her breast cancer nurse Carol Lintott.

For further editorial details please contact Angela Shepherd at CopyCat on 07885 207212 or email angela@thecopy-cat.co.uk