Glasgow woman beat cancer but lost both parents to disease

The inspirational Mount Florida woman has recovered from cancer - but has lost both parents to the disease.

As she prepares to share her story at the Business Beats Cancer Glasgow dinner in aid of Cancer Research on September 14, Elaine told the Glasgow Times why she believes it is vital to raise funds for gentler and more effective treatments.

Elaine with her mum and dad, Flora and James (Image: Elaine Adams)

“I know only too well the impact this terrible disease has on families, as I’ve lived it,” she said. “I’ve had to be stronger at times than I ever thought I was able to be, but I didn’t have a choice.

“Mum and dad were both unwell when I got my own diagnosis. I had to keep going for them. They were the very best parents I could ever have hoped for.”

Cancer has cast a long shadow over Elaine’s family.

She was a toddler when her mum, Flora, who was a successful solicitor in Ayrshire, was given a 50/50 chance of survival when diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the early 1980s.

Elaine with her mum, Flora (Image: Elaine Adams)

Thankfully, the treatment worked and she received the all clear.

Just before Christmas 2019, Elaine’s dad, James, was diagnosed with throat cancer and a tumour in his lung.

As the nation went into lockdown in March 2020, James was recovering from surgery, to remove the tumour from his throat, and radiotherapy.

Elaine said: “It was a difficult time as mum and dad had to isolate. I had to stand on the doorstep to chat to them. It was hard going.”

Just as James started to get better, Flora was diagnosed with bowel cancer which had spread to her liver. While doctors hoped the immunotherapy treatment Pembrolizumab would prolong Flora’s life, they were unable to remove the cancer completely.

Elaine, 44, found a lump in her left breast in the summer of 2021. She had mastectomy surgery, breast reconstruction using skin and muscle taken from her thigh, and five sessions of chemotherapy at the New Victoria Hospital.

Elaine with her dad, James, and brother, David (Image: Elaine Adams)

By Christmas 2021, both Elaine and her mum were unwell.

“Our family Christmas at home in 2021 was tough,” said Elaine. “Mum was trying to be strong for me and I was trying to be strong for Mum. Dad was trying to be strong for both of us.”

Sadly, Flora died, aged 80, in June 2022.

Elaine said: “Mum was such an intelligent woman. She was fluent in French and German, had a Masters degree in law and a dry sense of humour.

“I remember that final evening in hospital, I hugged her and told her I’d see her tomorrow. The next morning at 5am we got a call to say that she’d died. It was a shock for all the family as she went so suddenly.”

She added: “Dad tried his best after mum died but mum was the love of his life. He felt lost without her.”

In March, tests showed James’s cancer had returned and he sadly died in May, aged 82.

“Dad had always loved a gin and tonic but said you had to wait until 5pm,” said Elaine. “When he slipped away at 4.55pm, I like to think he was off to be reunited with mum and they could enjoy a G&T together again.”

A total of £486,000 has been raised so far by the annual Business Beats Cancer Glasgow fundraising dinner, which has been so successful since starting in 2016 that it has now inspired similar events around the UK.

Every year around 34,100 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland, and one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime.

Last year, Cancer Research UK spent nearly £33 million in Scotland on scientific and clinical research. All money raised from the dinner will be used to fund research in Scotland, enabling scientists to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

Elaine with Business Beats Cancer treasurer Paul McDermott (Image: Mark Anderson)

Cancer Research UK relationship manager Kelly Fallon, said: “We are grateful to Elaine for sharing her own family’s story and to all members of the Business Beats Cancer board who are working hard to make the annual dinner in Glasgow a success.

“They’ll help save lives by harnessing the power of their networks to support our groundbreaking work. By raising crucial funds, supporters will help bring us closer to a world where everybody can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of this devastating disease.”

Earlier this year, Elaine received “a hammer blow” after more tests showed she had inherited a faulty ATM gene, increasing her risk of breast cancer recurring. 

Now, she will face another operation, this time a preventative mastectomy on her right side, to cut the chance of the cancer returning.

However, now in remission, Elaine has vowed to do everything she can to “help give others more tomorrows with their loved ones.”

“There are huge advances in cancer research, but there is so much more to do,” she said. “If I can help other families facing cancer, then I will.”

For more information about the Business Beats Cancer Glasgow Dinner, visit Cancer Research UK’s website or email Louise.Gash@cancer.org.uk