In 2019, Elaina was planning a trip to Antarctica and in preparation therefore had a medical. It was at this examination where the doctor felt a lump in her breast. The lump ended up being breast cancer, and they subsequently found two other tumours. It transpired that she had been doing her self-checks wrong. She was devastated and obviously the trip didn’t happen, and her life turned upside-down.

Elaina was 39 at the time, and yet to have children, so she did fertility preservation prior to six rounds of chemotherapy. The pandemic however disrupted surgery with five cancellations between March and April 2020 before having a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. She was hugely stressed about all of this, but the surgoen did an amazing job, and she is out the other side doing well.

Her cancers were hormone receptive, so she was put in chemical menopause, but subsequently suffered with hot flushes, joint issues, and cancer-related cognitive impairment (‘brain fog’). More drugs and exercise helped her recovery and she took the challenge of running the London Marathon last October!

Her surgery meant that she now has less risk of recurrence, so her team were happy for her to stop hormone suppression to use the frozen eggs from her fertility preservation. She is now pregnant using one of the eggs! So, time for a happier chapter of her life, she hopes.