After losing her mum to breast cancer, Kirsten Reid did not delay when she found a lump in her breast in 2017.
She went to her GP the same day and was immediately seen at hospital. This year marks five years since her diagnosis.
Being one of the models at Courage on the Catwalk will be quite a challenge for Ms Reid as she is more use to flat shoes, so she is having to practice walking in heels.
‘I’m not a girly girl’
The 47-year-old, from Aberdeen, said: “I am not really a girly girl, so walking in high heels is quite a challenge. I work in a print room at Wood Group, I have been with them for 30 years. I am more use to Dr Martens boots and T-shirts.”
Describing it as a “women’s intuition” finding the lump in her breast, she knew immediately what it was.
She said: “My mum had breast cancer at 50 and secondaries at 70, and I have sisters that are 10 years older than me. So I was doing my normal checking in the shower when I found the lump.
“The doctor saw me in half an hour. From there everything happened very quickly. My treatment was incredible.”
She urged other women to act on their gut too.
“The best way to be is to believe yourself, trust your intuition,” she said. “If you think something is not right – then it is not right. You won’t be wasting anyone’s time if nothing is wrong.
“I caught it so quickly – so I knew I would be OK.”
Ms Reid, who has two cats Leia and Posie, said the “scariest” part was having to tell her son Christopher, who is 31.
She said: “I just felt like I was letting him down.
“What I have learned is, never be afraid to speak to people – there is always someone to listen.”
Anchor team and nurses became friends
For Kirsten, Friends of Anchor and the nurses in hospital became her friends.
She said: “I would arrive in the morning and it was all very quiet so I would shout ‘morning everyone’. I would say ‘I am just here to get my nails done – and I will take the chemo while I am in.’
“I missed them all terribly when my treatment finished.
“I know cancer is serious, but you need lightness to it – everything doesn’t have to be doom and gloom. For me it was brilliant to meet so many people and make new friends. I had to make the very best of it.”
Ms Reid says that advances in science means that her mum’s death would most likely be preventable now.
She said: “If I get cancer again or another lump then I know that it is going to be OK. I find that really comforting. Cancer is not what it was 20 or 30 years ago.
“When my mum died there was nothing they could do. I have promised Christopher that I was going to be OK, and I stand by that.
“If I had cancer when my mum got it – I don’t think I would be here.”
Courage on the Catwalk takes place at the Beach Ballroom on May 7 and 8. The event is sold-out, but to find out more visit the Friends of Anchor website.
