TWO inspirational mums, diagnosed with aggressive forms of breast cancer, have just returned from a trek through the French Alps with celebrity Giovanna Fletcher.
Primary school Anna Coleman, 44, who lives in Poppleton with husband, Lee, and children Emie, 13 and Louis, nine, found a lump in her breast and went to get it checked.
"I'd had lumps in the past, and they hadn't been anything, and on this occasion it wasn't the one I'd found, but another one that they said was quite aggressive and had grown quite big," said Anna.
This was December 1, 2021 and Anna says: "I remember the day as I'd said to the kids we were getting the Christmas tree that day and we carried on because I had promised them, but I went not knowing if it would be my last Christmas.
"I was told over the phone and I couldn't tell you anything about that conversation, nothing was sinking in."
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There followed 18 months of gruelling chemo and radiotherapy, a mastectomy and breast reconstruction.
Anna, who teaches at Wheldrake with Thorganby CE School, is now on tablets for the next ten years with regular MRIs, but says: "Hopefully, touch wood, the cancer is gone."
Anna couldn't return to work due to her weakened immune system.
She began intensive training after, she and friend, barrister Steph Hopkins, secured places on breast cancer charity CoppaFeel!'s Tour De Mont Blanc five-day trek in the French Alps.
The treks are run by celebrity presenter and blogger Giovanna Fletcher who is married to Tom Fletcher from boy band McFly.
"About 1,500 people applied and 120 people get picked," said Anna.
"Steph and I couldn't believe it."
The friends met as Anna taught Steph's children and she had her own cancer diagnosis about 11 months prior to Anna's.
Steph, 41, lives in Thorganby, is married to Dan, and has three children, Daisy, 12, William, ten and Monty, six. She has the most aggressive form of breast cancer - triple negative, and it's genetic.
She said: "The trek was really life-affirming, it was really great.
"I'm the first generation of my family so far to have survived breast cancer - all my female relatives have been killed by it.
"I'd like to encourage all women, but especially young women to just check themselves. I have two friends who have both passed away since I was diagnosed when I was 39 and a big motivation of mine is just to get that message out there."
Anna said: "I would say about two thirds of the people on the trek had had cancer themselves and I realised on the trek that I'd been wearing a mask for quite a while.
"It was nice to go with a group of women and just be yourself.
"It was an amazing space to let the mask come down and to try to process what had happened over the last two years. We have all stayed in touch and look forward to catching up."
The pupils at Anna's school walked 1,000 miles and every day while they were away the children in Key Stage 2 walked 5 miles each throughout the week and the children in Key Stage 1 walked three miles throughout the week.
Both Anna and Steph have just giving pages giving pages to raise money for CoppaFeel.
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