Front line of breast cancer: How the Edinburgh MoonWalk has saved lives

Audrey Macfarlane

Is a personal secretary and mother of two, from Edinburgh, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 41.

“The day I went to the Edinburgh breast unit, I thought I’d be in and out in five minutes. I didn’t have a lump, just some pain in my left breast, and I thought ‘they’ll send me packing’. It didn’t occur to me they would tell me anything. I didn’t even think to take anyone with me.

“So when they did a mammogram and said ‘well, your left side is fine but we seem to have an issue with your right breast’, it was an enormous shock. They referred me back to the consultant and I was told the cancer was quite widespread and my only option was a mastectomy. I couldn’t take it in.

“You sit there thinking ‘it’s not me they’re talking about, this can’t be me’. But cancer doesn’t exclude anyone. I’ve learnt that.

“On the Saturday before I had my surgery I decided I had to do something for the MoonWalk. We’d seen the pink tent in the Meadows in previous years and I knew what it was. Two days before I was due to have my operation we dropped the kids off at friends, turned up at the gates and said ‘let us in, we want to help’. I had been so well treated at the Breast Unit, the diagnosis was so quick and it had moved so fast, they really looked after me, and I knew that Walk the Walk had been involved in funding the unit. I just wanted to do something.

“They put us in the kitchen and we gave food out to people. It was a very emotional night – at one point we were standing there and you all hold hands and think about why you’re there. I was going for this surgery and I had no idea where it was going to lead me. I had two young children, aged seven and 14 to think about. It was a journey where I didn’t know where I was going to end up.

“The surgery, which took place at the Breast Unit, was fairly straightforward. They look after you, explain everything that’s happening, step by step.

“But I was dreading having to get radiotherapy or chemotherapy. I had to sit down my little girl and try to make her understand that Mummy may lose her hair because the doctors are trying to make her better. She went into absolute hysterics. I’ll never be able to get that out of my head, her pleading with me to phone them and say Mummy doesn’t need this medicine, she’s going to be OK. It was heartbreaking.

“Everyone told me – you’ll get chemotherapy. But after the surgery I went to see my surgeon and he said ‘no radiotherapy, no chemo, just Tamoxifen.” I thought, ‘Hang on a minute, say that again?’ It’s because my cancer was caught so early. The surgery had obviously been drastic but it had been enough. I was told that if I hadn’t been screened when I was it would have lain undetected, possibly until it was too late. Needless to say, the first person I told was my daughter. Now I take each day as it comes and I feel really positive. There are days when I get a twinge and think, ‘what was that?’

“But the great thing about the Unit is they’re always on the end of the phone. My surgeon said, just come in whenever you need to come in. It’s such an open house and such a comfortable environment. Last year I managed to walk the MoonWalk and it was a phenomenal achievement. I’ve never been on such a high. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Next year I’ll be going back as a volunteer. It’s something I’ll always be involved in. It’s part of me now.”

Nina Barough

Is a founder of Walk the Walk and a survivor of breast cancer, who brought the MoonWalk event to Scotland in 2006.

“Back in 1996, I dreamed up this idea about walking the New York marathon to raise money for breast cancer. I didn’t have any previous experience of breast cancer myself and I didn’t know anybody with the disease – it just sounded like a fun idea. I think it’s true to say I was more attracted to the idea of going to New York than anything else. Thirteen of us power walked the route – wearing our bras.

“Then three months later I discovered I had breast cancer myself and that became the impetus. The obvious way to help me – and allow others to help me – was to do another walk. My getting breast cancer was a huge part of getting the charity established and turning it into what it is today.

“We ran the MoonWalk successfully in London for years and I’d always wanted to take it to other cities and Scotland was the next country we took it to. I went to have a look at cities but I only really got as far as Edinburgh – the council wouldn’t let me go any further, it was so keen to have it here. But I also met a lot of surgeons and oncologists and technicians and was shocked to discover that, if something wasn’t done about the facilities and care for cancer patients in Scotland by 2020, there would not be enough resources for them. So we made the conscious decision not only would we go to Scotland, but the majority of the money would stay in Scotland too.

“Since then we’ve renovated the breast unit at the Western General in Edinburgh, built a new operating theatre, built a new Maggie’s [Centre] in Glasgow and introduced scalp-cooler machines to Skye and the Western Isles. There is so much still to do and we’re working on new projects all the time.

“Somebody asked me recently, ‘do you ever get tired or bored of doing the MoonWalk?’ and I was absolutely aghast. It is the most exciting night to be a part of. There’s such unity, such camaraderie, I love how people turn up on their own and realise that, actually, they’re not on their own, because everyone looks after each other. It’s so exhilarating. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.”

Laura Lee

Is the chief executive of Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres. Its newest centre, funded by Walk the Walk, opened at Gartnavel hospital in Glasgow last week.

“When you get a call from someone like Nina Barough who says, ‘how can Walk the Walk and our walkers help Maggie’s?’ you take that call. She asked us, ‘how can we help you do what you want to do faster?’

“We knew that the new cancer centre which had opened in the Beatson at Gartnavel in Glasgow was the largest cancer centre in Scotland, and we needed to have a Maggie’s centre there to support the 8,000 people with cancer who are going through it each year.

“It would have taken us years of planning and fundraising to achieve that, so when Nina asked, it felt like the most urgent and important project we could give her and her walkers because of the sheer volume of people in Scotland who would be able to benefit from it.

“When you walk in the door of a Maggie’s centre you’re met by a cancer nurse specialist who will make you feel welcome, help you understand your cancer and talk you through it. What Maggie’s does is give people with cancer and their families a place where they can really talk about their fears and anxieties and get the necessary support they need.

“It’s a bit like having someone to lean on during that most crucial and frightening time. We give people help to get them back on their feet, increase their sense of control and regain a sense of hope.

“A lot of money raised for cancer goes to research but Walk the Walk is also passionate over the issue of care and looking after people with cancer today. That’s what Maggie’s does and to have that support, and have them fund the Glasgow centre, has been fantastic.

“I hope the new centre inspires people to continue to Walk the Walk. If they can see that their money is being well spent, they’ll continue to support it, and by extension, support others with cancer all across Scotland.”

Gill Chadwick

Is lead Macmillan Cancer Nurse for NHS Western Isles and is based in Stornoway, which has recently received a scalp cooling machine from Walk the Walk, which can help minimise hair loss during chemotherapy.

“Remoteness and cancer care can be a challenge. Some of our patients are referred to Glasgow for diagnosis and treatment. If they need chemo, they have to travel to Glasgow to receive that. There is no system in place for Glasgow oncologists to prescribe treatment that could be administered in either Stornoway or Benbecula. That does mean that those patients have to travel for all of their treatment, usually necessitating an overnight stay away.

“We can only offer to administer some chemotherapy here – some, for technical as well as practical reasons, needs to be given on the mainland. We are willing and able to administer many daycare treatments here, including scalp-cooling, which can help many chemo patients keep their hair.

“Thanks to a donation from Walk the Walk of a second scalp cooler, we can now offer scalp-cooling in both Stornoway and Benbecula – the two places where chemotherapy is administered in the Western Isles. It is great for us to be able to offer patients the chance of keeping their hair during chemotherapy.

“There are some people who refuse it, they just don’t want to know, but most people tend to be more frightened by the disease itself than by what we are offering. It can offer them one way of keeping them looking the same in the mirror. It just helps a little bit – which, when you have cancer, is so important – and it can boost their self-esteem.

“For some women losing their hair is a big issue. We do have women who don’t mind in the slightest about wearing a wig, but it is very much an individual thing. Whether the patients we see want scalp cooling or not, the important thing is that we are able to offer it.”

Elaine Anderson

Is the clinical director of the Edinburgh Breast Unit at the Western General Hospital, which has received funding from Walk the Walk to renovate a ward and a surgical theatre.

“It is always a very sensitive time for the women who come to the unit. Not only are they contemplating having breast surgery, which is quite a thought in itself, they’re also trying to deal with the fact that they’ve just been diagnosed with cancer. They’re often anxious and scared about what lies ahead.

“We’ve had two tranches of funding from Walk the Walk. The first was used to redesign our ward and outpatient clinic to allow for more outpatient beds and a larger assessment area. This has been enormously successful because it means that if a woman has surgery, and everything has gone OK, they can go home on the night of the operation. That is hugely important to them to be able to do that.

“The second part of the funding was for a new surgical theatre. We had one theatre assigned to the unit but, because of the workload, were using another theatre a good ten minutes walk away. Now we’ve got two theatres within the unit, our patients never have to leave the ward for treatment, making them feel secure and comfortable.

“Without the Walk the Walk funding we would have got up and running but it wouldn’t have been as comfortable for the patients. Many of our patients are able to have single bedrooms.

“Many of the women who come to our ward have done Walk the Walk, it’s particularly common in the younger women we see. Coming here and seeing what’s been done with the money they’ve raised gives them a sense of ownership, that they contributed to this. We are enormously grateful to all of them.