Hi I’m Hannah, I live in Shrewsbury Shropshire with my two boisterous boys (Kit 6 and Rudy 4) and my husband Matt. Shropshire is a hidden gem of a county full of rolling hills and nice people. I love to roam the hills, running, skiing, doing a bit of yoga when I can and I am a real foodie. I’ve worked in brand and marketing for over 15 years which I love. It’s dynamic, fun and people focused.

My life was pretty atypical for a 38 year old when I got diagnosed. Busy balancing work, children, house and finding time in between to have fun. Then in August 2022 I got diagnosed with Lobular Breast Cancer. Despite a family history and knowing several women that had been diagnosed, you just never really think it will be you until it is. My symptoms were a tiny bit of thickened tissue which was very hard to feel and I had experienced almost a sparking sensation in the area but only a couple of times.

I was initially diagnosed with grade 2 invasive Lobular Breast Cancer with a 2cm tumour and 2 lymph nodes involved. Hormone positive HER2 negative. I literally had never even heard of the word ‘Lobular’ before and was shocked at how little airtime it receives despite impacting a huge number of women. I swiftly had a lumpectomy and full lymph node clearance and it was discovered the disease was in fact in 5 lymph nodes, grade 3 with pleomorphic features which put me straight into requiring chemotherapy.

I had 20 weeks of chemo and three weeks of radiotherapy. Once treatment finished I was then put on Letrozole for 10 years and Zoladex injections to shut my ovaries down. I then started Abemaciclib, which is a targeted therapy prescribed for high risk of reoccurrence women. So far it has been ok and I have recently returned back to work. I will be taking this for two years. I am due to have a hysterectomy in a few months which was recommended by my team.

I found LBCUK’s website when I was desperately trying to understand more about my diagnosis. I found the website engaging, informative and positive. I was seeking real facts and real life stories from a credible source. I was so impressed by LBCUK I wanted to get involved and put some of my years of Comms and Brand building into something positive. This is why I got involved and can’t wait to be part of LBCUK’s growth journey