After her cancer diagnosis, Agneta Rankin from Cushnie by Alford got her affairs in order.
She was about to turn 60—she cancelled her celebrations.
That was three years ago, and Agneta is still here, spreading cheer in her beloved community.
There are good days and bad as she copes with the lingering after-effects of surgery, radiotherapy and drug therapy.
But she’s upbeat, keeping busy and about to model in Friends of Anchor’s Courage on the Catwalk on May 10 and 11.
So what changed for Agneta, helping her see that her diagnosis wasn’t the final curtain, and there was hope and a path through it all?
Agneta credits her surgeon Beatrix Elsberger, a multiple award-winning consultant breast surgeon at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
‘The cancer was fixable’
Agneta says: “Beatrix said if there was one cancer to have, this was it and she could fix it.”
With that message ringing in her ears, Agneta decided to shelve her conviction that life was over, and embarked on her cancer journey with as positive a frame of mind as she could muster.
Her initial diagnosis came completely out of the blue after a routine mammogram.
She’d had absolutely no symptoms and felt well, but a recall letter came in asking her to return for another check.
They decided to do biopsies there and then.
An agonising two weeks later, Agneta got the results- she had Grade 2 invasive ductal breast cancer.
Cancer discovered in routine check
“Without that routine mammogram, it would have had the chance to grow,” Agneta says. “That’s why I urge everyone to go for their routine mammograms.”
Agneta was due to go on holiday and have her surgery when she got back, but due to the ramifications of Covid, she didn’t get her lumpectomy until the October of 2022.
“They were hard months, possibly the worst,” Agneta says. “You’re imagining this thing growing, maybe doubling in size.”
Meanwhile, Agneta had to find her way through other challenges.
Her elderly mum has multiple sclerosis and vascular dementia, and her brother has an inoperable brain tumour.
They live in Westhill, a 23 mile drive each way for Agneta.
Breaking the news to family
How to break the news to them, and prepare them for situations when she wouldn’t be able to visit?
Agneta decided to name her tumour ‘Lionel’.
She said: “It was easier to speak about it that way somehow.
“I could say things like, they’re going to zap Lionel, and then Lionel’s gone and so on.
“Using humour was better than upsetting everyone.”
Successful operation
Agneta’s operation went well.
“They got all of it out, with clear margins,” she explains. “It hadn’t spread to my lymph nodes.”
But that wasn’t the end of the treatment story of course.
Tough after-treatment continues
Tough treatment followed the lumpectomy, including radiotherapy, and a hormonal treatment with ‘horrible’ side effects.
“It throws you back into menopause, and because that particular cancer is hormone-receptive, you have to take the drug for a minimum of five years.
“A side effect of that is a hit to your bone density, so you have to take a tablet for that.
“It’s all quite hard work, but I find remedial massage by Friends of Anchor wellbeing team really helps the sore armpits and joints and the achy, droopy arm I’ve been left with.”
Agneta has found overwhelming fatigue to be the biggest issue in her recovery.
She had to reduce her hours working at the Post Office in Alford, where she was already well-known in the town from working in the bank since 2005.
In addition to carrying on caring for her mother and brother as best she could, Agneta set about turning her situation into a positive, something which would help others.
Being open about her diagnosis
Agneta decided to be open about her diagnosis, and found an overwhelmingly warm response from her community.
She said: “I couldn’t walk down the street without people offering support and best wishes.
“I chose not to keep it private, because cancer hurts physically and mentally, so I found if I didn’t learn to laugh at myself I risked going into a downward spiral.
‘Not necessarily a death sentence’
“I also tell people about the phenomenal advances in modern medicine, cancer isn’t necessarily a death sentence.
“I say, don’t dwell on the what ifs, live life to the full.”
Agneta practices what she preaches.
She held a giant afternoon tea party last year to raise funds for Breast Cancer Now in the village hall, raising £4,700.
She also turned her crocheting passion into making crochet boobs filled with chocolate oranges.
Fantastic support from Friends of Anchor
She’s now involved with Friends of Anchor (FoA) having experience their care they offered her during and after her treatment.
She said: “I can’t thank or praise them enough.
“There’s always someone there wearing the FoA red T shirt to meet and greet you when you arrive for radiotherapy.
“It’s a long way to the unit, so it really helps defuse the anxiety.
“And their after-radiotherapy care pack is like a giant hug.
“It’s a well-being pack with everything in it from heat pads to creams, everything to help you move forward.
“You know they are really there for you.”
Agneta keeps up her social networks
Agneta keeps busy, attending the Breast Buddies group in Banchory every six weeks or so for coffee, chats and walks, and also keeping up with her old Zumba group.
“I do a slower version now though,” she says. “The group were amazing. When they heard of my diagnosis they collected bits and piece for a giant hamper, with PJs, blankets, all sorts of everything to keep me occupied.
“I also do Aqua Zumba which really makes a difference to the pain I get in my arm, as in the water there’s no resistance and it makes a difference.”
She went on: “When you have a cancer diagnosis, your fitness levels go downhill due to the effects of the medicines.
“I advise getting out and going for a walk when you can.”
Lastly, but not least, Agneta plays tribute to her husband Andrew.
“He’s been brilliant, a rock.
“He’s kept me grounded and has been there to see me through. He keeps me focused by listening and talking things through with me.”
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