When Barbara-Ann Mackay found out her aunt had breast cancer she had no idea that just five months later she would be diagnosed with the same disease.
And then there was more bad news for the 44-year-old primary school teacher from Arbroath.
While she was having treatment – her older sister was also given a breast cancer diagnosis.
“Within an eight month period in 2018 the three of us were diagnosed with breast cancer, ” Barbara-Ann says.
“My aunt Audrey in the March, me in the August and then my sister Sarah-Jane in November.
“While it came as a shock, in some ways it made going through it a bit easier because we were all facing it together.
“We all supported each other.”
Barbara-Ann, who teaches at Montrose’s Southesk Primary, went on to have surgery, chemotherapy and then radiotherapy.
Her aunt and sister also had surgery and chemotherapy to treat the disease.
Today the mum-of-two is passionate about raising awareness of breast cancer.
And the importance of getting symptoms checked.
Barbara-Ann also continues to make a difference by raising money for vital research in the fight to try and prevent others going through the same experience.
What symptoms did Barbara-Ann have?
In 2015 when Barbara-Ann was 35 years old she found a pea-sized lump on her left breast.
And she got it checked out straight away due to a family history of breast cancer.
“I was lying in bed one night and when I was doing a check that was when I found the lump.
“I phoned the doctor and made an appointment.
“And due to my family’s history – my mum’s mum and her two sisters all had breast cancer – I was referred to Ninewells Hospital.
“I was seen within two weeks and they did an ultrasound.
“But they told me it was nothing to worry about – that it was just a blocked milk duct.”
However, three years later when her aunt Audrey Anderson, 58, was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to get the lump checked again.
When was the Arbroath mum diagnosed with breast cancer?
In March 2018 the Arbroath mum had been aware that the lump had grown.
And following her aunt’s diagnosis, her husband Kenny encouraged her to get it checked out.
“At that time I was doing my post-grad in teaching so I wanted to get that done first and out the way.
“So in the June I went to see about getting an appointment and I had to wait for five weeks.
“In the August I had an ultrasound.”
Barbara-Ann – who has two sons Kaleb, 14, and Cairn, 11 – then saw a breast cancer consultant and a biopsy was taken.
She continues: “I really thought it was nothing to worry about.
“I was about to start my probation year.
“And I remember starting my job on the Monday and then coming home to a letter from Ninewells two days later.
“They wanted to see me urgently and when I went to my appointment, that’s when I was told I had breast cancer.”
What was Barbara-Ann’s reaction to the breast cancer diagnosis?
Barbara-Ann says she didn’t get upset when she was told she had breast cancer.
“I was strong the whole time.
“Until I was told I had to have chemo – that’s when it hit. That was the hard part,” she says.
“The diagnosis did still come as a shock though because I had been told all the way through I had nothing to worry about.
“A week later I went back to the hospital with my husband Kenny to talk about the treatment options.”
Why did Barbara-Ann opt to have a double mastectomy?
Barbara-Ann, her sister and aunt have all had some form of genetic testing and have tested negative for the altered BRCA gene.
Carriers of the BRCA gene have a greater chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
But despite this, the primary school teacher had already decided she wanted to have a double mastectomy.
“When the consultant asked what I was thinking I said: ‘Well I am telling you now, if you don’t give me a double mastectomy, I will be like my granny and her two aunties.
“It will come back in the other breast with a vengeance and it will kill me.
“She looked at me and just said ‘yeah’.
“While I didn’t have the BRCA gene, she said given my family history, I would qualify for the double mastectomy and I agreed.
“Another nurse in the room said to me: ‘Are you sure about that?’
“But I looked at her and said: ‘I don’t have to think about this.
“‘I have always said after watching my gran and two great aunties go through it, that if I was ever diagnosed with breast cancer, I would have a double mastectomy’.
“I already knew what I wanted to do.”
Barbara-Ann’s breast cancer treatment
In October 2018, Barbara-Ann had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction.
“They used tissue from my tummy to make my breasts,” she says.
“After the surgery, which took 11 hours, the plastic surgeon came round and told me he had made them a bit bigger as I had more tummy.
“And I was like ‘please don’t tell me I am Dolly Parton!’
He said: ‘Do you want to be?’ But I said ‘no thanks!’
“You don’t realise how major the surgery is though – what the plastic surgeon did was amazing.”
After the surgery, which also saw Barbara-Ann have a lymph node removed, she had six rounds of chemotherapy at Ninewells Hospital.
“I finished the chemo in March 2019 and then in May I started radiotherapy.
“I had 15 sessions with the aim of washing up anything that might still be there.”
How did the Arbroath mum feel after finishing breast cancer treatment?
Barbara-Ann felt relieved to finish her treatment for breast cancer and had her own poignant way of marking the milestone.
She says: “My granny had brass furniture and when she passed away I got a brass bell she had.
“I remember taking that brass bell from the cupboard.
“And after I finished treatment I sat in the car ringing that bell and I said to myself: ‘I’ve done it’.’
However, while Barbara-Ann had finished her treatment it was a bittersweet moment.
As her older sister, Sarah-Jane Shellard, 48, was diagnosed with breast cancer while she was having chemotherapy.
“When she told me she had felt a lump she got it checked straight away,” Barbara-Ann says.
“She had a biopsy and then had surgery in January 2019.
“But she supported me when I went through chemo and I did the same for her.
“It made the process easier than going through it by yourself.”
Family support
Barbara-Ann, her sister and aunt have all now been a few years clear of cancer.
And all three are passionate about raising awareness of breast cancer and supporting cancer charities.
This September Barbara-Ann is taking part in The Moonwalk Scotland – having done it previously
The event raises life-changing funds for those living with breast and other cancers.
“If you feel something isn’t right, get it checked because cancer doesn’t discriminate – not matter how old you are.
“You know your own body.”
Barbara-Ann adds: “My aunt, sister and I are all survivors.
“People ask me if I worry about the cancer coming back.
“But I say no – if it happens I will deal with it.
“I can’t live my life worrying about that.”
Conversation