An Aberdeen poet and songwriter is trying to raise awareness of breast cancer and the importance of getting checked as soon as a lump is discovered.
Dott Niven, 78, who publishes poems almost every day on her Facebook, has shared a poem she wrote after her mum Evelyn died of breast cancer 20 years ago.
Mrs Niven, who also lost her husband Leslie in November 2022 to lung cancer, told the P&J she hopes her verses will help “to raise awareness” of the disease.
The Loch Court resident said: “If you detect a lump, you should get things checked as soon as possible.
“I think the word cancer itself is terrifying and I believe that if someone in your family has had it, you tend to ignore the signs because of the fear.”
The Aberdonian experienced this fear first-hand after she discovered a lump on her breast five years ago.
She explained: “It took me 6 months to go and see a doctor because I was too scared. You try to forget about it but it’s always in the back of your mind.”
The poet continued: “When I finally got it checked, the doctor said it was not a lump but a change in my body produced by weight loss.
“I regret not having done it earlier. When I heard it was not cancer, I was so relieved, it put my mind at rest.”
Mrs Niven gave another example of the importance of getting checked early.
A friend of mine had testicular cancer but it was caught on time. If he hadn’t gotten checked so soon, we don’t know what would have happened.”
Aberdeen Facebook poet’s moving poem on breast cancer
Mrs Niven described losing someone to cancer as “the worst feeling ever.”
She said: “My hubby got worse during lockdown so I couldn’t get doctors and had to do everything by myself, as I couldn’t get my daughter over as we were not allowed to go to other people’s houses.
“It was the worst thing I have ever gone through in my life, seeing him screaming in pain.”
She lost her husband two decades after losing her 67-year-old mum to breast cancer.
The poem she wrote after her mother’s death reads:
The word cancer is terrifying,
we all know this is true ,
we think of it as dying,
but that’s not always true.
A lump in your breast doesn’t mean you have cancer,
but ignoring it is not the answer,
go to your doctor and get a test,
at least it will put your mind at rest.
I watched my mother lying there,
with all that pain she had to bear,
this killer disease that causes such pain,
is a bloody disaster, hard to explain,
I couldn’t help her I don’t know why,
I just sat there and watched her die,
research has got to find a way,
there must be a cure is all I can say,
so I hope they find a cure real soon,
instead of sending men to the moon,
the moon will be there,
when we’re all dead,
say no more, enough has been said,
I looked after my mother on her dying bed,
I couldn’t believe that my poor mum was dead,
she gave me her loving, what more could she give,
I’ll remember my mother as long as I live,
for she was my mother, I loved her so,
why did she leave me, why did she go,
I prayed to my maker to help her get well,
the pain she endured, she was going through hell,
I lay down beside her, she looked very pale,
I wanted to hold her, but she was to frail,
for she was my mother, I loved her so,
why did she leave me, why did she go.
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