Linda beat breast cancer thanks to early diagnosis

Linda Barclay was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago after a routine mammogram picked up on the disease.

Linda said: “I had been for a routine mammogram once before, so I didn’t expect the results to be any different this time round. I hadn’t felt a lump.

“However I ended up being called back for another mammogram. The doctor looked at it and told me that it looked like cancer. They did a biopsy there and then.

“If I hadn’t gone for that screening appointment then I wouldn’t have known there was a problem. I couldn’t feel it even when they told me where it was.”

Invitations are being sent to local women aged 50-70, who are registered with a local GP and are due their three year scan.

Around 130 women’s lives are saved every year in Scotland as a result of breast screening.

Linda said: “I was diagnosed on April 1 – it wasn’t an April Fool for me.

“I hadn’t told my family that I was going for the follow up appointment. I didn’t want them to worry.

“The day that I was told I would need an operation; I told my husband that I had breast cancer. He went to tell my son and I told my daughter.”

After surgery, Linda received chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat her stage three cancer and now feels “totally fine”.

She said: “I always had a feeling that I would be okay. That it wasn’t going to be a death sentence. There was no point in wallowing. You just need to keep fighting.

“I have three grandsons. If I hadn’t gone for the mammogram then I may not have met my youngest grandson or seen my daughter get married.

“My grandkids may not have had their gran. They are a big part of my life and I am so grateful that I am still here to see them.

“I’m really glad I went for that mammogram.”

Visit Get Checked Early to find out more about screening and to see a video of Newarthill actress Elaine C Smith at her appointment.