A MOTHER-of-two has said that breast cancer completely dominated her life — but she leapt at the chance to wrestle back control.
Lynn Wadland, 51, had just started a new job as a local government energy advisor when she felt a stabbing pain in her breast.
The pain was significant enough for Lynn, from Monifieth, to book a doctor’s appointment — and was told there was a lump.
Her doctor said before the test results were returned that he was 99% sure it was cancer.
She said: “My first two questions were ‘will it kill me?’ and ‘will I lose my hair?’
“I have a 13-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son — I didn’t want to look ill. The only way I can describe it is like a bereavement.
“Breast cancer takes your entire life and puts it in a box. You have to fight tooth and nail to get every little piece back. When I heard that there was chance I could keep my hair, I jumped at it.”
Lynn had been told about Paxman, a scalp cooling system designed to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.
Lynn, who now lives in Broughty Ferry, added: “You want to look in the mirror and see yourself looking back. Chemo made me very ill but I still recognised myself.
“It helped me cope. I think losing my hair would’ve made me quite depressed and keeping positive is a very important thing. It allowed me to maintain normality, even if I felt very sick, no one knew.
“I haven’t been able to work, though, as chemo destroys your immune system. I hadn’t heard of scalp cooling before but I was so glad to learn there was some good news among the awful nightmare I was in.”
It works by putting on a tight skull cap, which freezes the hair follicles, reducing the amount of chemotherapy drugs that reach the scalp.
It doesn’t work for everyone and Lynn admitted it was not the most comfortable of experiences but for her it was worth trying.
She also said the whole thing was made easier by her chemotherapy support worker, Pamela Fitzpatrick, who explained everything about the cooling system.
Ms Fitzpatrick, an NHS Tayside nurse, said: “It has been a pleasure to support Lynn on her oncology journey.”