Cancer 'not the death sentence it might have been'

Martine Legg was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of this year, but is now back on stage acting in a play with the Guernsey Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Club.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Legg said she wanted those facing such a diagnosis to know that "it's not a death sentence that it might have been years ago".

Breast cancer is Guernsey's third most common cancer, causing about 12 to 13 deaths a year.

Legg said she was initially "shocked" and "actually really annoyed" when she was diagnosed.

When Legg found a lump in her breast and went to the doctor she "didn't think much of it and neither did he".

She said: "The lump I found wasn't the cancer. The cancer was elsewhere so it was just one of those incredibly lucky diagnoses."

Legg said after the "initial annoyance wore off" from the diagnosis, she was angry.

She said: "I'm healthy. I don't smoke, I hardly drink, I do a lot of sport, and so I thought: 'Wow, this feels unfair when you live your life in the way that you're meant to.'"

Legg learned that breast cancer "can happen to anyone, it doesn't discriminate."

After three weeks of radiotherapy in Southampton, Legg is "back to doing what I love, which is singing and dancing" on stage.

Legg said she has a "little bit of a guilt complex" as others with breast cancer have had it "much worse than I have."

For those who have been diagnosed, Legg's advice was to "just stay strong and as healthy as you can".

She said it was important to have "moments of time where you get upset or angry" but there was "lots of help" available.

"You can carry on a relatively normal existence... I don't see it stopping me and I don't want it to stop me doing anything."

Legg said the support of charity Pink Ladies Guernsey was "brilliant" when she was diagnosed as "they provide some financial help and and a shoulder to cry on".

She added there was an "incredible support system" in Guernsey: "The breast cancer unit, your surgeons and the cancer nurse, who's brilliant."

Suzanne Halliday, nurse consultant for the breast unit, said it was "really important that people do check regularly" for lumps but "not too often... around once a month".

Halliday said that if anyone knew "what's normal for you" they "can be really confident going forward" when checking for lumps.

"Some people like to check in the bath or the shower with soapy hands", Halliday said.

She added "there's no one perfect way" to do so and it was about "finding the way that really works for you."

Diane Matthews, the strategic screening lead for Public Health, said breast cancer prevention was "about primarily alcohol".

Matthews said: "Lots of people we speak to aren't aware that alcohol is a risk for breast cancer."

She said "even as little as a drink a day can increase a person's risk by 7% to 10%".

She added that Guernsey had a breast screening programme from age 50 to 75 where women were invited every two years to make sue of it.

Matthews also recommended "physical activity and to maintain a healthy weight" to prevent the risk of breast cancer.