Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘I missed the nurses when the chemo stopped’: Aberdeen grandmother repaying cancer charity by taking part in Courage on the Catwalk

Cathy Johnston was supported by Friends of Anchor after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Cathy Johnston is taking to the catwalk to raise funds for a charity that has done so much to support her. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson
Cathy Johnston is taking to the catwalk to raise funds for a charity that has done so much to support her. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson

Cathy Johnston says she will never be able to repay Friends of Anchor for all the support they provided throughout her cancer journey.

It made such a big impact on her that she was sad to say goodbye to all the nurses when she finished her treatment for breast cancer.

Mrs Johnston had now had the all clear after suffering from breast cancer.

“I find it hard to put it into words how much they do,” she said. “They’re so caring and lovely.

“The chemo nurses were amazing, there’s great banter with all of them and I actually enjoyed going for my chemo because it was such a good laugh. I missed it when the chemo stopped, which doesn’t sound right, but I missed seeing everyone.

Cathy Johnston with her husband George Johnston. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson

“The pampering, the massages during treatment and getting your nails done, all absolutely helped when I was going through treatment.

“I don’t think I could ever repay them for all the help and everything I got.”

Building confidence

Mrs Johnston, from Aberdeen, is now preparing to take to the stage for this year’s Courage on the Catwalk to raise funds for the charity that means so much to her.

The 63-year-old, who works in catering for an oil and gas company in Aberdeen, was nominated to take part by her colleagues.

Every penny she and the other 23 models raise will go towards the brand new Anchor centre which is scheduled to open later this year.

“It was a shock but I feel very privileged to have been asked,” she added.

“You can see everybody’s confidence growing at every rehearsal, myself included. The confidence took a hit when I was going through treatment. At the start, I was very nervous, but I’m feeling a lot more confident now about the show and about myself.”

All clear from cancer

The mum-of-two was diagnosed with breast cancer – a grade two invasive ductal carcinoma – on January 9, 2019.

She said: “I’d had a routine mammogram in early December 2018. Then myself and my daughter had a trip to New York and when we came back there was a letter waiting.

Cathy Johnston and her husband George with their grandchildren (left to right) Jay Johnston, 16, Ava Johnston, 11, Dylan Still, 7, and Elias Still, 10. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson

“I just knew something wasn’t right.”

She underwent surgery one week later and the tumour was fully removed.

Due to being HER2 positive – a protein in the body which stimulates cell growth – she also had to go through chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“I never went on an appointment on my own, there was always someone with me,” she said. “My family have been absolutely amazing.”

Her husband of 44 years, George Johnston, was by her side throughout the whole journey, as were her two children, Emma Still, 41, and Christopher Johnston, 38.

She also credits her four grandchildren, Jay Johnston, Ava Johnston, Elias Still and Dylan Still, for keeping her going.

Family connections

Six of Cathy’s family members have been diagnosed with cancer. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson

The research work Friends of Anchor do also means a lot to Mrs Johnston due to the massive impact cancer has had on her whole family.

Out of her family of seven, including her parents and four siblings – Donelda, Jackie, Debbie and Jimmy – six of them have been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

Her sister, Donelda, died from cancer 14 years ago.

“My nieces bought me a bracelet engraved with words of encouragement to keep me going when I was diagnosed, ” she added. “That helped a lot.”

Courage on the Catwalk will take place at the Beach Ballroom on May 6 and 7.

Conversation