Amanda Bullock has something to tell you – she’s still alive.
That’s the message from the bubbly and fun-loving 41-year-old from Dyce, who two years ago was given just three months to live.
That shock prognosis came just days after she was given the all-clear for a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Doctors had to sit her down and tell her that instead of beating it, the cancer had in fact spread to her brain.
But after organising what she thought would be a last-chance wedding with partner Dan – and undergoing extensive radiotherapy – Amanda just kept on going. And going. And going.
Now, as she sails into her 26th month since being told she had just weeks left, Amanda is feeling better than ever.
And though still classed as terminal despite chemotherapy that successfully treated SIX brain tumours, she is living life to the fullest – and even daring to look to the future.
“Nothing’s stopping us making plans anymore, we can’t tell what’s going to be around the corner,” Amanda says.
“Before when we were told it was three months, we though, Jesus, let’s get cracking. Now it’s looking like it’s slowing down a bit.”
Amanda admits that looking ahead feels scary “because I didn’t think I would be here”.
When she was told her breast cancer had spread to the brain she started making memory boxes and writing letters to loved ones Dan and son Krisstoffer Buchan.
But now she wastes no time telling them herself how she feels.
“I like to tell people that I love them more, and I actually enjoy their company more,” she says. “I’ve got a completely different outlook on life.”
A rollercoaster of emotions
Amanda’s optimism is remarkable considering the rollercoaster of emotions she has experienced over the past three years.
Diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in October 2020, she underwent six gruelling sessions of chemotherapy and surgery that removed part of her breast.
The chemo was so debilitating she contemplated giving it up after the fourth cycle. But Amanda soldiered on, and in early 2021 was given the amazing news she was cancer-free.
However, after suffering a seizure in May that year, doctors told her the cancer was now in her brain. In all, she had just 17 days to celebrate the all-clear before being told the cancer had spread.
What made it worse was that Amanda lost her 60-year-old dad David to cancer the previous December.
Sparked into action, Amanda and her friends planned a whirlwind wedding that saw her walking down the aisle with Dan in June 2021.
A P&J photographer was there to take some memorable pictures of an emotional day for the couple.
Amanda still looks back at the wedding with amazement that they were able to pull it of so quickly.
“It was more than what we expected,” she says. “I was just like everyone came to bat for us. It was just absolutely amazing.”
How hard work and chemo turned the tables on cancer
With the wedding out of the way – and feeling like there was nothing to lose – Amanda started treatment for her newly-discovered tumours.
There were eight lesions in total. Yet once the oral chemotherapy course was over six of them were gone, and the remaining two reduced to pinpricks on scans.
“It’s absolutely perfect,” she says. “I’ve only got these two tiny little dots in the front of my head and I’ve had no seizures in nearly a year!”
The Aberdonian is now on experimental intravenous treatment Trodelvy that has changed her life again. The cycles are far less gruelling and haven’t yet brought on the nausea commonly associated with other treatments.
In fact, thanks to the new drug Amanda is letting her hair down, even as she rues the loss of her locks from previous chemo treatments.
“I go out and party every weekend,” she says with a laugh. “My chemo is on the Wednesday and I’m out partying with my pals on a Saturday. I appreciate life now more than I ever did.”
This year, she’s seen Lewis Capaldi perform on stage in Aberdeen and in May celebrated passing the two-year mark since her diagnosis by dressing up as Mario (a friend dressed up as Wario, of course).
She even went out on a ride with Aberdeen biker club Road Mutts, ticking off a long-held bucket list dream.
A tribute to late father David
Amanda puts her passion for life down to losing her father in late 2020.
“Dad was only 60,” she says. “I thought, hell no I’m not bending down to this. I’ve got fire in my belly and I want to prove that whether it’s any type of cancer or if you are terminal there’s still hope there.”
More nights out are planned. She caught comedian Russell Howard last month, and she’ll be at the Lady Boys of Bangkok show on Aberdeen beach this weekend.
Meanwhile, Amanda wants to hold a second wedding reception as Covid-19 rules meant not everyone could make it to the last one.
“I just don’t stop anymore,” she says.
Does Amanda think about being cancer-free?
The nights out with friends are precious for Amanda. They also mark a return to normality following years of turmoil.
Concerts, house parties and trips to the pub may be more difficult now than in her youth – she sometimes needs a wheelchair to get around – but they are just as much fun.
And though the future may still be uncertain, Amanda is adamant she will face it with optimism.
She even sometimes dares to imagine what it would be like to hear from her doctors the word all cancer patients dream of hearing.
“It’s called NED, which means No Evidence of Disease,” Amanda says.
“Will I ever get that? I don’t know, but my oncologist is amazed that my liver is spot on.
“In fact, all my organs are in good condition considering how much chemo I’ve had.”
There is a pause as Amanda thinks about she’s just said. Then she laughs.
“And the amount I drink!”
