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NO one knows the shock of finding out they have cancer better than Katrina Zielinski.
The 55-year-old mum of two grown-up daughters went through the ordeal of sitting in a hospital room facing two doctors who had no choice but to look her in the eye and tell her the words no one ever wants to hear:
“You have breast cancer.”
But that was ten years ago and Katrina, from Barrhead, in East Renfrewshire is living proof that you can survive breast cancer. Only recently she has been told she doesn’t have to go back to hospital for annual checks that the cancer hasn’t returned – and that’s as good as an all clear you could get.
Katrina went through surgery having a mastectomy and breast reconstruction and then gruelling sessions of radiotherapy and chemotherapy at Royal Alexandra Hospital, in Paisley and Glasgow’s Beatson Institute.
She will forever be indebted to the skill, care and compassion of the doctors and nurses who saved her life. And one way she shows her gratitude is by raising money for the Royal Alexandra Hospital Breast Fund, which helps women - and men - in their battle with breast cancer.
Now Katrina is urging people to support the fund-raising efforts of Braehead Shopping Centre, near Glasgow for the RAH Breast Fund from now until the end of October.
Braehead is collecting unwanted bras and for every one donated to the special Bra Amnesty Box in the upper mall between Thornton’s and Whittard’s, the centre will donate 50p to RAH Breast Fund. And once the bras have been collected, they will be given to charities in the UK and abroad.
There is also the chance to pay tribute and show support to those affected by breast cancer by leaving a message on a giant model bra in return for a donation to the fund.
Katrina says: “I am so grateful I am alive and if there is anything I can do to help other women who are in the same position as I was I would. Fundraising is just one way I can give something in return for the life I was given back.
“We have a very good breast cancer unit at the RAH and we should do as much as we can to help. Nobody knows when cancer is going to strike and who it is going to affect – it could be you or a close family member or one of your friends. I would urge everyone to get involved in Braehead’s fundraising for the RAH Breast Fund.”
Katrina - who has raised £10,560 for the fund in the past eight years - added: “Being told you have cancer can be very frightening and a huge shock to your system, but there is help out there and look at me – I’m still here. I’m a good example of how you can beat breast cancer and it’s good to know that someone else has been there and done it before you.
The aim of the RAH Breast Fund is to improve the care for patients with breast disease by paying for improved amenities in the hospital’s Breast Ward, staff education courses and better cancer communication for patients.
The fund financed half the cost of introducing a new surgical technique at the RAH called Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy which allows the removal of targeted lymph glands instead of all the glands. This reduces complications of the surgery like chronic pain and patients spend less time in hospital.
The latest project for the RAH Breast Fund is to create an internet-based information resource for patients.
The consultant surgeon behind the fund is Mr Mike McKirdy who said: “The fund is very important to help us develop services at the RAH.
“It makes a big difference to patients who are being treated for breast cancer.
“Our latest project is to create an internet-based information resource for patients because research has shown that women who are better informed make a better adjustment to their diagnosis and they get back to a normal life much quicker.
“If we can give them all the information they need through the internet they can access it at any time they feel the need to.
“It’s great that Braehead is raising money for the fund and I would urge everyone to donate.”
Braehead’s marketing manager, Lydia Young said: “The RAH Breast Fund finances very worthwhile projects which directly benefit women with breast cancer.
“I hope shoppers will join in our fund-raising effort and if what we do helps even just one woman through what can be a very traumatic time battling breast cancer, then it will all have been worthwhile.”
For more information about Breast Cancer Campaign fundraising events at Braehead log on to www.braehead.co.uk
Katrina continued: “When I was diagnosed with breast cancer it was a bit of a shock as I had looked after myself – ate well, exercised and did all the right things – and there was no history of breast cancer in my family.
“I asked a lot of questions and was able to make the right decisions about my treatment. I had a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I needed the whole works.
“I was diagnosed in February 1998. That was ten years ago and now the doctors tell me I don’t have to go back for tests to check if the cancer has returned.
“I was really looking forward to reaching ten years cancer free as that was one of my goals. Having goals and reaching these goals was how I dealt with having cancer and going through the treatment.
“I kept going on about my goals and getting over the next hurdle so much, my mum, Ann said I was like Sally Gunnell the international hurdling athlete.
 “My advice to anyone going through treatment for breast cancer is to deal with each bit of their treatment as they come to it and hopefully you will eventually get there. If you look too far ahead it can be a very frightening prospect.
 “When I was diagnosed with cancer I would have loved to have known someone who was five or ten years down the line and has survived. I would like to think that the fact I am still alive would be a help to someone.
 “I was in the shower one morning and I felt what was like a thickening in my breast. It wasn’t a lump – it was just a thickening of the tissue.
“I went to my GP and within days I was undergoing tests in the hospital.
“When I was getting the results the doctor said I had a tumour, but it was treatable.
“My reaction to that news was strange because I became very angry. I was angry because I had looked after myself and stayed healthy, but still had got breast cancer.
“The feeling of being told you have cancer is much worse than anyone could ever imagine. It was like going into another world, another dimension.
“In this situation you need all the help and support you can get, Donating to the Braehead appeal will get that help to the breast cancer patients who need it most.”
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