Maureen's leading the fight against cancer

Maureen Fox’s world changed overnight after being diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2021.

She had to break the news to her teenage daughter Georgia, then undergo surgery and radiotherapy during the pandemic. Staff at Lauder Primary School, where Maureen then worked as a teaching assistant, were a huge support, but it was the diagnosis that made Maureen vow to finally leave the job she loved and train as a teacher.

Now cancer free, Maureen, 50, who lives near Galashiels, has won a place studying for her post-graduate diploma in education with the University of the Highlands and Islands. She can’t wait to teach her own class of pupils when she graduates this summer. And to give hope to future generations this World Cancer Day (February 4), Maureen is backing a Cancer Research UK campaign to help raise life-saving funds.

Maureen said: “Coming through cancer made me feel like I had been given a second chance at life.

“I’m absolutely bursting with excitement to finally become a primary school teacher. Of course, it was scary going back to studying but I am loving it. There’s a joy and hope I find in being a student teacher and in knowing that I have kicked cancer. My dad Patrick, step mum Catherine and my daughter Georgia are my anchors and I couldn’t have got through any of this without them. I’ve been fortunate to have had amazing doctors and a fabulous medical team.

“Whenever I feel down or afraid I remember there’s so much good and positivity out there. I’m feeling grateful for all the wonderful things in my life and for knowing it’s no good going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”

And Maureen who was still recovering from cancer when she celebrated her 50th birthday last spring is painfully aware that not everyone gets the chance to change things in life. Just before Christmas last year, Maureen was heartbroken after her sister Sandra Fox died aged 52 from early onset dementia on December 8 last year.

Maureen said: “My beloved big sister lived in Canada and had suffered from dementia for many years.

“She fought so hard and was taken too young. I had planned to travel out to visit her this year and feel so sad I don’t have that chance. I will miss her always and losing her makes me see how short life can be.”

Now Maureen hopes that by sharing her story of courage she’ll inspire others to mark World Cancer Day on February 4 by joining the fight against the disease. Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years. Its research has led to more than 50 cancer drugs used across the UK - and around the world - from chemotherapies to new-generation precision treatments. With around 33,200 people diagnosed with cancer every year in Scotland,* the charity is determined to continue its mission of funding life-saving research.

Maureen’s message is clear – to save lives tomorrow, Cancer Research UK needs the support today.

That’s why she’s calling on people across Scotland to give regularly to the charity to help fund long term research projects that could drive new breakthroughs. Life-saving cancer treatments are made possible by months and months of trialling, testing and learning. But monthly progress in research needs monthly donations.

Maureen said: “We have an expression in our family, ‘mony a mickle maks a muckle and even if it’s only a few pounds a month, every little helps.

“For me personally, benefiting from treatments like Tamoxifen has allowed me to have a future and how many more people can we help if we continue to support research?”

For the next 10 years Maureen will take the drug Tamoxifen - a life-saving hormone therapy drug for breast cancer in both men and women, brought about with the help of Cancer Research UK.

Tamoxifen began as an accidental discovery in the 1960s by scientists at pharmaceutical company ICI, who were looking for a new emergency contraceptive. After its development, Cancer Research UK scientists helped prove the drug’s effectiveness, paving the way for its widespread use, and Tamoxifen is now a mainstay treatment for premenopausal women with hormone positive breast cancer. The charity has also funded work proving the benefit of Tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer in high-risk women. Now, 86% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Scotland will survive their disease at least 10 years.**

Maureen, who suffers from chronic asthma and allergies, first noticed a change in her breast in January 2021 while washing in the shower but initially shrugged it off as a fatty lump. When it didn’t go away, she contacted her GP who referred her to the Borders General Hospital in Melrose for further investigation. COVID-19 restrictions meant she had to go alone.

Maureen had an allergic reaction to the iodine being used for a biopsy test and went into anaphylactic shock.

Maureen said: “The staff were trying to tell me that they suspected I had cancer while also giving me adrenalin because I had had a severe allergic reaction.

“I then had to go to A&E for six hours as a precaution. I remember sitting there thinking ‘do I have cancer?’

Maureen faced an agonising two week wait for confirmation of the cancer diagnosis.

Telling her dad Patrick, 83, and daughter Georgia, 19, was one of the hardest parts.

She said: “It was a very scary time.

“I worried about how long I had cancer and if it had spread.”

Maureen had surgery to remove the cancer and then three weeks of radiotherapy at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. Last October, Maureen marked the first anniversary of getting the all-clear from cancer.

Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.

Its research has led to more than 50 cancer drugs used across the UK - and around the world - from widely used chemotherapies to new-generation precision treatments.

In fact, drugs linked to the charity are used to treat more than 125,000 patients in the UK every year.

Now people can also help support vital work such as this by getting a World Cancer Day Unity Band from one of the charity’s shops while stocks last. Available in pink, navy or blue, wearing one is a way of showing solidarity with people affected by the disease.

Lisa Adams, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for Scotland, said: “This World Cancer Day, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to our customers, donors and supporters like Maureen.

“Thanks to their generosity and commitment to the cause, we’ve been at the forefront of cancer research for over 120 years and we’re not stopping now. Regular giving is crucial to our work, because it means we can fund long term research – research that could lead to new discoveries about cancer and unlock new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat it.

“One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime***, but all of us can help beat it. So, we hope more people across Scotland will donate monthly - if they can. We’re working towards a world where we can all live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”

Donate monthly to life-saving cancer research by clicking here.