'Physio saved my life' as back pain was cancer

A mother-of-three with stage four cancer is taking on a 56-mile cycle ride almost a decade after being told she had two years to live.

Sam Andrews, 53, a teaching assistant from Corsham in Wiltshire, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer – which means the disease has spread to other parts of the body – in August 2016 after suffering from persistent back pain.

She said her physiotherapist "basically saved" her life by noticing treatment was not working and sending her for further tests.

Mrs Andrews and her husband John will take on the Tour de 4 challenge in Glasgow on 7 September. The ride was set up by Sir Chris Hoy, who has a stage four diagnosis.

Mr and Mrs Andrews have said they want to take on the challenge to inspire people living with cancer and help fundraise for better treatments.

"I want people with cancer to just do as much as they possibly can, spend time with loved-ones while they still can – and never give up hope," Mrs Andrews added.

Mrs Andrews said her children, who are now in their 20s, were preparing to sit exams when she began experiencing symptoms.

She said she was healthy and active, but had persistent back pain.

"I'd been having backache for quite a while and I'd been to the doctors a few times and got different strength painkillers," Mrs Andrews said.

"One day, the physio said to me, 'This isn't working – I think you need to go and get a blood test'. She basically saved my life."

After the blood test, Mrs Andrews was sent for a CT scan, which revealed widespread cancer to her bones and the lining of her lungs, as well as her skull.

She said she felt "complete shock and horror" as she was told she might only live for "a couple of months to two years".

Mrs Andrews underwent chemotherapy, hormone therapy and bone-strengthening injections, with extreme side effects.

She got osteonecrosis of the jaw – death of bone tissue – leading to surgery and an exposed patch of bone in her mouth.

"I couldn't even eat a Malteser – that's how bad things were," she said.

Now, Mrs Andrews said she lives life in "four-month blocks" between scans.

"Everyone thinks when they hear stage 4, that's it – that you might as well just head to the cemetery, but you can live an active life with cancer," she said.

On her upcoming challenge, she added: "I'm quite a stubborn person – I will keep going as long as I possibly can, even if I'm walking up the hills."

The couple have fundraised before, mostly walking, including for the Royal United Hospital Bath's new Dyson Cancer Centre.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, they locally walked the equivalent distance of 874 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats, raising £1,800 for the hospital and the SSAFA (soldiers, sailors and airmen's families association) Armed Forces charity.

This time, they are raising money for Breast Cancer Now, a charity which campaigned for treatments which Ms Andrews said helped her live beyond expectations.

"My aim at the very beginning was to keep going long enough for new treatments to be developed that would help me to keep going longer, and I did that," she said.

They had a £400 target, but have already raised more than £900 with months left to go.

The charity said an estimated 61,000 people in the UK living with incurable secondary breast cancer.

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