{"id":26468,"date":"2020-10-20T17:22:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T17:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=325098"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:16:16","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:16:16","slug":"mother-spent-14-weeks-battling-breast-cancer-alone-during-covid-19-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/mother-spent-14-weeks-battling-breast-cancer-alone-during-covid-19-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother Spent 14 Weeks Battling Breast Cancer Alone During COVID-19 Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/p>\n

Battling cancer is difficult for anyone, but it\u2019s even harder when you have to do it alone. That\u2019s what happened to Samantha Currie<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Samantha, 27, is the mother of two young boys\u20145-year-old Max and 10-year-old Robbie. Before COVID-19 and her breast cancer diagnosis, she never dreamed she would have to spend 14 weeks separated from them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found the lump, everybody said it would just be a cyst, but I knew deep down what it was, so I had more or less prepared myself for the diagnosis. But when the consultant told me, my heart sank to my stomach. And I didn\u2019t know how to tell my kids.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Samantha Currie<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Samantha first discovered the lump in February and went to see her doctor the next day. She was referred for a mammogram and a scan, and she learned that she\u2019d been diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer<\/a> on March 6th. By that time, the COVID-19 pandemic had already spread to her area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very quick in dealing with it,\u201d Samantha recalls. \u201cI was supposed to have chemotherapy first to shrink the tumor, but they saw how quickly the cases of COVID were rising and they got me in for a lumpectomy on March 23.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Samantha Currie<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Samantha\u2019s cancer was already in stage II and had spread to her lymph nodes, but the initial lump was still a small one and could be removed via a lumpectomy<\/a> without chemo beforehand to shrink it. After that, however, she would have only a short time to recover at home with her family before starting chemotherapy.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Samantha Currie<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before chemo, Samantha took some time to turn her suffering into a blessing for others by cutting off her long hair and donating it to the Little Princess Trust, where it will be made into wigs for children with cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had hair down to my bum, but they advised me at the hospital to cut it short so it was not as traumatic when I saw it on the pillow,\u201d she says. \u201cI got my sister to tie it into a ponytail, and I cut it and sent it away to the Little Princess Trust<\/a>. Then my sister shaved my hair in at the back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Samantha Currie<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And then Samantha started chemo and her long separation from her children.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were with their dad for 14 weeks,\u201d Samantha recalls. \u201cI saw them through video, but it just wasn\u2019t the same. I wasn\u2019t able to hug them and give them kisses. Not having physical contact when I was going through cancer treatment was hard. Lockdown<\/a> was the loneliest time of my life, and, because I couldn\u2019t see anyone, no one really knew what I was going through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But although she may have been lonely, Samantha certainly didn\u2019t have any reason to be bored, because she was still studying for her college exams while she underwent chemotherapy. That\u2019s right\u2014she worked hard and got an A in her administration with medical<\/a> course while battling cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Samantha Currie<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI just continued with my college work at home while I was going through chemotherapy,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to give up my course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Samantha was awarded Ayrshire College\u2019s Student of the Year<\/a> title for her hard work during such a difficult time in her life.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough going for her. We saw her mental health going down but she always managed to lift herself up for the sake of her boys,\u201d says Samantha\u2019s mother, Jacqueline<\/a>. \u201cWe were so proud when she was made student of the year. It was great to see her hard work recognised.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Samantha Currie<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jacqueline and Samantha\u2019s maternal grandmother were both diagnosed with breast cancer, but they were both older when they received their diagnoses. At this time, doctors don\u2019t believe Samantha\u2019s cancer is hereditary; however, her sisters\u201441-year-old Lorraine and 35-year-old Ashley\u2014will be screened for cancer as soon as those services are available post-COVID.<\/span><\/p>\n

Best of luck, Samantha! You\u2019ve been through so much and are so brave, and we believe your hard work and perseverance will pay off!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

\n

Elizabeth Nelson is a wordsmith, an alumna of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, a four-leaf-clover finder, and a grammar connoisseur. She has lived in west Michigan since age four but loves to travel to new (and old) places. In her free time, she. . . wait, what\u2019s free time?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Provide Mammograms<\/h5>\n

Support those fighting Breast Cancer at The Breast Cancer Site<\/span> for free! \u2192<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n