Avril's mum supported her through her breast cancer diagnosis. Now, Avril is helping her mum cope with her Alzheimer's disease.
Avril's mum supported her through her breast cancer diagnosis. Now, Avril is repaying the support as she helps her mum cope with her Alzheimer's disease.
I was diagnosed in November 2015 after finding a hardening of tissue on my breast after self-checking. The GP and specialist thought it was a cyst, but it didn’t come as a shock to me when I was told it was breast cancer.
I’ll never forget the day I told my mum the news. She couldn’t hear past the word cancer and was devastated. I’m a positive person, but I felt guilty for upsetting Mum so much.
She’d cook meals for me, send flowers and bring me good luck charms throughout my treatment. Her daily phone calls kept me strong.
Mum and I have always been close. I’ve been so lucky to live near her and to have the love, support and childcare and dogsitting whenever I needed it.
Our roles have changed a bit now. Mum’s older, frailer, and she’s recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But we’re close in a different way. I now have a chance to repay her a fraction of the support that she’s shown me.
It broke my heart telling her I had breast cancer, but it breaks my heart on a daily basis seeing her become a shadow of the woman she once was. She is amazing and strong, and I’m so proud of her.
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