Maria Lawrence shares breast cancer story

Take time to look, touch and check

To help highlight Breast Cancer Awareness month, Maria Lawrence, Nurse Clinician, was keen to share her story to encourage colleagues to check themselves.

“I can remember the exact moment I found a lump in my breast. Liverpool FC had been on their victory tour on 2 June 2019, and I’d been on a night shift. I came home washed my uniform and was hanging it on the line and as I reached up I just noticed something didn’t feel right,” said Nurse Clinician Maria Lawrence. “It was the waiting, the build-up and not knowing that made the two weeks until my appointment feel like forever. The Royal could see me quickest so that’s where I went, even though I’d worked at Aintree since 1992 when I first qualified as a registered nurse. In a way it felt better to have a bit of anonymity.” Maria, who started on a medical ward at Aintree and then became a specialist rheumatology nurse for 14 years, has now worked for almost 10 years in the Nurse Clinician Team.

“At my appointment they treated me with the upmost dignity. I was scanned, examined, had a mammogram, seen a specialist nurse and had a biopsy. It was when they were trying to do the biopsy that I just knew. “I stayed away from Google because I wanted to be guided by the specialists. I met the consultant and even before we had the biopsy results he was talking about treatment options. It was another two weeks before the results confirmed I had cancer.

“The hardest thing was telling my two boys – they both reacted differently, my eldest at university simply said mum you can get through this, while my youngest worried the worst would happen,” said Maria, who adopted the brothers together as babies in 2000. “The doctors and nurses were great, they didn’t assume because I was a nurse I would understand everything. There was a lot to take in, so they explained it simply to me and my husband.

“Chemotherapy was rough – it was a rollercoaster for six months with sessions every two or three weeks. Nothing tasted or smelt the same, I was nauseous, couldn’t sleep and more and more fatigued as the treatment went on. “When my hair started falling out, I didn’t expect how traumatic it was going to be for me. At my hair salon, I ended up crying with my stylist because I wasn’t ready to shave my hair off, they were brilliant too. I got a short pixie cut and then went back a week later when I was ready. “It's your eyebrows and eyelashes that you don’t expect to make a difference, but they frame your face so it was all something else to deal with. I always wore a scarf or my wig when I went out and kept a beany hat by the door, I wasn’t ready for people to see me bald.” During her treatment, Maria was admitted twice to the Royal due to infections she’d caught while her immune system was low. After her chemotherapy finished, she was scheduled for a lumpectomy in January 2020 – which just happened to be on her husband’s 60th birthday! “I went with my wig on to surgery, they were so good, and waited until I was under aesthetic before removing it – it just made me feel like my dignity was maintained throughout. After they removed the lump, they confirmed there was no cancerous tumour remaining – so as tough as the chemo was, it had worked – I was so pleased. “I began radiotherapy in March 2020 – I wasn’t prepared for how frightened I felt and I think it was because I didn’t have much knowledge about what would happen – after the first two sessions I was so emotional. This really made me think about how some of our patients must feel.

“I’m taking a different outlook on life now, I’m looking after myself, eating healthier and going for walks. It’s an ongoing process – and I’m so relieved right now because I’ve just had the allclear on this year’s mammogram.”

Charity lunch

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month LUHFT charity hosted a lunch event at Mason's Restaurant for our supporters who - along with Pink Party events - helped raise £1,597 towards the Breast Unit fund for the new Royal Hospital.

LIVING OUR

Our values are ‘the way we do things around here’. They are the very core of who we are, for every colleague, patient and individual who comes into contact with us. Our values enable us to work together more effectively and to deliver great patient care more consistently. We see examples of our values in practice on a daily basis, and each month we will celebrate individuals or teams who are clearly caring, fair and innovative.

Boosting Crohn's and Colitis services

Lisa Critchley, IBD Nurse Specialist, has gained a place on the 2021 Crohn's & Colitis UK Nurse Specialist Programme and is hoping to further inspire and support others living with Crohn’s and Colitis.

“During my nursing training I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease – and this is what gave me the ambition to become an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) nurse. I never let it hold me back. Ever since my work experience in a nursing home I wanted to become a nurse, so despite my diagnosis and needing to have surgery in the middle of my nursing training, I didn’t drop back. I feel really proud to have now been awarded a place on the Crohn's & Colitis UK Nurse Specialist Programme,” said Lisa. Crohn’s causes inflammation of the digestive system, and Colitis causes inflammation and ulceration of the inner lining of the colon and rectum. “I was 18-years-old when I was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s, three years after I started developing symptoms. Having the condition has helped me when working with my patients. I know the way they are feeling and how bad it can be. To me, it’s personal and I really want to help them get better. Gaining a place on this programme means I’ve been given the funding to be able to start my masters in advance nursing practice at Edge Hill University – which is a massive opportunity for me to be the best I can be for my patients.” Lisa has also created the North West’s only Gastroenterology transition clinic, supporting young people aged 15 to 21 transition to adult care, under the mentorship of Dr Phillip Smith, Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Royal. She said: “As well as reviewing their condition, psychological support and education about the disease, we help them to adjust to adult life with a GI condition, such as managing their appointments themselves or ordering medication from the pharmacy. “Little tweaks such as support letters if they are struggling with schoolwork because of their symptoms can make a big difference. The rapport we have with patients and their families is great and we’ve had some really positive outcomes that have helped to avoid hospital admission. It makes me really proud.”