A hug from my son helped save my life when I found I had rare cancer

“Noah was sitting on my knee and I was giving him a hug, trying to get him dressed for nursery,” explains Ashley McLean.

“After I pulled on his t-shirt he tried to run away and accidentally elbowed me in the chest.

“It was really painful.”

Ashley McLean (Image: CRUK)

Later, Ashley noticed her breast was red and inflamed and her nipple was inverted.

“I couldn’t feel a lump so I thought it might be just hormonal, but when I told my mum she said that I should make a GP appointment,” adds the 37-year-old, who also has a five-year-old daughter, Ayla.

Ashley with Noah and Ayla (Image: CRUK)

Just weeks later, hospital tests revealed she had inflammatory breast cancer, which occurs in fewer than five out of 100 breast cancer cases.

Symptoms, which include swelling, redness of the breast, changes to the nipple and pain, can appear quite suddenly.

“It’s been a tough few months,” explains Ashley. “I had been feeling tired but I thought that was just because I was a busy mum and I sometimes worked night shifts at the hospital.”

The diagnosis felt like a “hammer blow” after a challenging time for the family.

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Ashley’s son Noah has a rare chronic lung condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans.

It has meant repeated stays in hospital and up until April this year Noah relied on oxygen therapy via a tube during the day and at night. But by this spring, Noah’s health had improved and he only needed extra oxygen at night.

Ashley explains: “It felt like we’d finally been turning a corner with Noah’s health and he was doing well at nursery.

“Ayla was thriving and looking forward to starting school. It felt so unfair that just as things seemed to be settling down I was facing what doctors told me can be a fast growing and aggressive cancer.”

She pauses. “You just think, why me? When I started talking about my kids the tears came.”

Ashley felt reassured after speaking with Dr Grainne Dunn, consultant oncologist at Victoria Hospital on the Southside, where she was due to receive most of her treatment.

Tests showed the cancer has not spread. Ashley will have six sessions of chemotherapy in total which are due to finish in October. She will then have surgery and possibly radiotherapy.

“There’s still a long road ahead,” she says.  

“My oncologist Dr Dunn is fantastic. She’s made me feel differently about my treatment. There are difficult things.

“A side effect of the chemotherapy treatment means I’m starting to lose my hair but I’ve had a wig fitted and I know that will only be short term. I’ve had great care from the NHS.”

Ashley, who started chemotherapy treatment last month, has been chosen as guest of honour for Cancer Research UK’s Shine Night Walk Glasgow on Saturday (August 31).

Ashley McLean (Image: CRUK)

She will sound the horn at the start line of the 10k event at the SEC, with best friend Nikki McPhilemy – who has launched Ash’s Army, a team including former school pals from Holyrood Secondary School and colleagues from Glasgow Royal Infirmary – by her side. Ashley’s parents, Sharon and John, and her beloved aunties, are also a huge support.

“I’m proud of Ash’s army and everything my brilliant friends are doing to support me through cancer,” she says, smiling.

“Nikki and I have been best friends since we were 14.

“She’s more like a sister to me than a friend. She’s the godmother to both my children and I’m lucky to have her in my life. I know I’ll get there as I have such a great team behind me.”

Best friends Ashley and Nikki when they were teenagers (Image: Lisa Adams/CRUK)

Around 34,600 people are diagnosed with cancer every year in Scotland, and cases are on the rise.

Entries are still open for the Shine Night Walk, where participants can choose to raise money for the cancer type closest to their hearts.

Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for Scotland, Lisa Adams, said: “We’d like to thank Ashley and her friends for their support.

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“Fundraising has helped us to double cancer survival in the UK in the last 50 years. But we can’t stop there.

“Whether people walk for loved ones, future generations or with friends old and new, by taking part in Shine Night Walk, step by step, they’ll be bringing us closer to a world where everybody can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”

For more details, visit shinewalk.org

“I know the earlier cancer is detected the better the outcome but if it wasn’t for Noah I might not have taken action so quickly,” adds Ashley.

“I was lucky to get that hug from my son.”