Volunteering: Shiela's experience

“After I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my whole life felt like it was full of appointments and treatment. When I started volunteering, it felt like an opportunity to take my mind off my situation and have something else to focus on. For those hours, my mind forgets and that’s important to me.”

Shiela Umpleby volunteers in Yorkshire Cancer Research’s Harrogate shop, a role she has found to be valuable for her mental health since being diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2021.

Shiela, 46, first noticed a change in the shape of her breast while breastfeeding her youngest son.

She said: “There was no lump, but my breast was swollen so I went to my GP. Initially, it was thought that it was an inflammatory condition called ‘mastitis’, which has the same symptoms and is common in women who are breastfeeding. The GP gave me antibiotics but when they didn’t work, I said that something wasn’t right, and I was referred to the breast clinic.

“I had an ultrasound and a biopsy, and when the results came back, I was told I had breast cancer. Unfortunately, it had already spread to other parts of my body by the time I was diagnosed, and I was told it was incurable.

“It was very shocking to be given that diagnosis. I just kept thinking ‘what about my two boys, I want them to know their mum’.”

Shiela has a type of cancer called ‘inflammatory breast cancer’, which makes up between 1% and 5% of all breast cancers and can develop quickly.

Shiela received three months of chemotherapy, before having radiotherapy at the Bexley Wing at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds. She now has treatment called targeted therapy every three weeks to help prevent the cancer spreading further.

“The team at the Bexley Wing have been very good, and I’m grateful that whenever I have a problem or a concern, I can go to my oncology team, and I’m referred to specialists who can help me.

“The treatment that I’m currently having is working, which means that even though the cancer is incurable, it is being managed so that I can continue to live my life for as long as possible.”

For Shiela, taking care of her mental health has been an important part of life since her diagnosis.

She explained: “Mental health is so important because otherwise you’re constantly thinking and worrying about what’s going to happen next, and it can really bring you down.

“When I saw an advert asking for volunteers at the Yorkshire Cancer Research shop, I knew I wanted to be involved with the charity. I thought it would be a great opportunity to take my mind off my situation for a while and decided to apply straight away.

The charity’s shops play an important role in raising funds for world-leading cancer research in Yorkshire, and volunteers like Shiela help to continue this vital work.

Shiela continued: “My family have been fantastic and supportive in such a hard time. It’s nice to have people to talk to about how I’m feeling.

“My children have been really resilient throughout. They’ve seen the loss of my hair and my appearance change due to treatment, but they take everything in their stride. I had a wig while I was having chemotherapy and quite often, they were the ones wearing it! I’m very lucky to have them.”

Talking to other people about her diagnosis has also been an important help for Shiela, who hopes that sharing her experience will encourage others to speak to their GP with signs and symptoms of cancer.

She said: “I want to be able to talk to people about my diagnosis because I feel like it helps me. I want to be able to tell people that you should visit your GP if you notice any symptoms. You know your own body, so speak up when you know that something isn’t right.

“I wasn’t old enough to be invited for a breast screening, and it’s so easy to think ‘I’m too young to have cancer’, but it’s important to check your breasts at all ages.”