'In the name of checking chests!' Wakefield mum takes on Brecon Beacons trek for Coppafeel cancer charity

Joanne Cave will be taking on 100km of the rugged and unforgiving Brecon Beacons on June 8 to raise funds towards CoppaFeel's mission to educate and remind everyone in the UK that checking their boobs could save their life.

A message that is very close to the 41-year-old after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018.

Joanne, who works for Wakefield Council, was 36 when she was diagnosed.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d have breast cancer. I was very blase about it,” she explained.

"I had a bit of a lump and just left it for six weeks.”

But it was husband, Alex, who said the lump was getting bigger, leading to Joanne to contact her GP.

"I was referred and seen within two weeks. Then in August 2018 the results came back – I had Grade 3 breast cancer.”

Joanne had a full mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

"They took away part of the lymph nodes to check if it had spread...it had, which meant more surgery.

"Just over a couple of months, the lump and cancer had grown so fast.”

Chemotherapy followed, which Joanne says was ‘the worst thing ever’ and radiotherapy.

"I was fit and young. I didn’t feel ill, but I had this aggressive cancer in my body.

"I lost my hair and my eyebrows, which affected my children, Zach, now 14, and Nieve, now nine, who were young.

“Then I had an anaphylactic shock reaction to one of the drugs and, cruelly, had a forced medical menopause.”

But, always positive, Joanne said: “They can take anything, any body part, away from me. What matters is you’re here for your children.”

Now, she hopes that by telling her story and joining the CoppaFeel trek, others will be pushed to check themselves and see a GP if there are any concerns, no matter how small.

The CoppaFeel charity was founded by the late Kris Hallenga, who passed away earlier this month.

Kris was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 23 and lived with the illness for 15 years, tirelessly campaigning for breast cancer awareness in that time.

Her breast cancer was terminal by the time it was diagnosed in 2009.

The charity said: "Kris' ambition was for no one else to find themselves in her position and so CoppaFeel! was born, to ensure breast cancers are diagnosed early and accurately.”

Joanne said; “I’ve followed CoppaFeel for a long time, how they make men and women aware that it can happen to anyone, regardless of their age, whether you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s…

“This July marks five years of me being cancer free and last October I found a post by Giovanna Fletcher, who is one of the patrons of CoppaFeel, about the trek and thought, well I feel fit and well enough, so put a form in.

"I didn’t really think much more of it after that, I forgot about it! Then in January, I got an email to say I was in!”

CoppaFeel organise two treks each year – one in the UK and one abroad.

This year, Joanne will be joining celebrities in Wales, including Giovanna, McFly drummer, Harry Judd and Faye Winter from Love Island.

Also trekking with be Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden, who after taking part in last year’s trek and hearing people’s stories, checked herself and went on to have her own breast cancer diagnosis.

Joanne, who has raised more than £4,000 so far, said: “It’s 100K walk over mountains over five days. There are 130 people in the team, camping out for six nights.

"I’m a bit nervous about the camping part! In a field, in a tent, six shower blocks and toilets for 130 people!

"But after going through the trauma of breast cancer, fundraising is something that has helped me heal.”

Visit Joanne’s fundraising page here to donate.