Having just celebrated her 18th birthday, Molly McLeod said taking to the Courage on the Catwalk stage this year was the perfect way to celebrate being nearly five years all-clear from cancer.
This year’s youngest participant in the event said she was only 12 years old when she started noticing a lump on the side of her hand.
Although doctors appeared to dismiss it at first, five to six months later she was shocked when she was told she had a very rare type of soft tissue cancer. She started receiving treatment a few days later.
Initially, Miss McLeod was very upset but she said she soon accepted the diagnosis and focused on getting through it.
For the next eight to nine months, the Aberdeen school pupil went through nine rounds of chemotherapy, had surgery, and a six-week stay in Glasgow for radiotherapy.
‘People with me literally every step of the way’
Looking back, she said the intense chemotherapy sessions were the hardest: “That was when it was physically the worst. Most of the time when I was at home recovering I felt like my normal self.
“Obviously I was tired but I felt normal and morale was high. But during those sessions it was like a complete change.
“Throughout that my family was there by my side for everything. So it was still hard but it definitely lightened the load of everything that I was going through.
“At no point during the treatment did I ever feel remotely lonely or that it was too much to deal with because I had people there with me quite literally every step of the way.”
While she was getting treatment, Miss McLeod had to isolate at home to avoid picking up any infections. It was then that her mum stayed at home and became her primary carer. Over these months, she said it had definitely made them much closer as a family.
Although she was very grateful for all the support, Miss McLeod said it had not been easy to avoid taking risks: “I think for me the hardest thing was isolation because obviously my friends were going out for summer and I was out of school for nine months.
“My health had to be my number one priority and I have plenty of time in my life to go to parties.”
‘I felt kind of a stranger to my old life’
In March 2018, Miss McLeod was able to think about returning to a bit of normality after finishing her treatment.
It turned out, she found this even more daunting: “I think it was actually the aftermath that for myself was a lot harder emotionally.
“Coming out of treatment, the safety blanket of treatment and continuous scans were wiped away, I was very much more stressed and on-edge.
“When I came out, I wasn’t sure which direction to go. I was told to enjoy myself but I wasn’t sure how to do that anymore.
“I was overwhelmed with the fact that everything just carried on as normal and I felt so abnormal because I was out of the loop.
“So I felt kind of a stranger to my old life. But what I went through I couldn’t go back to that and I didn’t want to go back to that so I had to move forward.”
Made friendships for life
For a while though, Miss McLeod struggled to be reminded of her cancer journey and avoided thinking about it. As she started going back to school, hanging out with friends and getting to enjoy the little things again, she said it got easier.
Another big step in that journey was taking part in Courage on the Catwalk. Miss McLeod was nominated by a family member to take part when she was 15 years old but the event was postponed for two years due to Covid.
However, she said she had formed friendships with the 20 other models taking part. In particular, Miss McLeod’s best friend at Courage, 83-year-old Margaret.
“I first started going at 15 or 16 and I always felt a little bit out of my comfort zone because there were women of all different ages but Margaret and I from the get-go just gelled very well.”
“I think for me, seeing someone who is obviously a lot older than me who’s going through the same thing shows me that anyone can go through it.
“Being able to speak to someone who has gone through it as well and who is older and wiser can also make me reflect on everything I went through and give me a different outlook as well.”
‘Getting to celebrate what we have overcome’
She said the catwalk event was a great way to raise awareness for Friends of Anchor and the “fantastic” work that they do.
Miss McLeod said: “It’s more a celebration of everything we’ve gone through because everyone is at different stages with their diagnosis.
“I definitely think for people in the audience, managing to have fun and living almost normally and celebrating the fact that we all are going through this or have been through this, I think it would instil hope for other people facing the same.
“It kind of shows cancer doesn’t define any of us, it’s just something that we have in common.”
This year’s youngest participant said: “On a personal level I’m doing it for my family. They’ve been the greatest support throughout it so I’m doing it on my own but on their behalf to celebrate what we’ve overcome.”
Although it has been a bit of a long wait due to Covid, Miss McLeod said the two years have given her time to mature and reflect more.
She added: “I’m even more excited now because now I’m approaching five years all clear. It’s a great way of ending this chapter in my life on a high note because it’s definitely a positive outcome on everything I went through.”
Courage on the Catwalk will take place at the Beach Ballroom on May 7 and 8.
