A COMBER woman is brimming with pride after her three sons scaled Northern Ireland’s highest peaks to raise money for the cancer charity caring for her since she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
Mel Walker wanted to acknowledge the efforts of her boys for raising more than £7,000 for Macmillan, funds which will be kept within Northern Ireland to ensure local patients directly benefit from the fundraising effort.
Eldest son Jack (29) who lives in Canterbury, was joined by Lex (27) and their brother, Harry (25), who both reside in Comber, to complete the Mourne Seven Sevens Challenge.
The trek is an arduous 29km hike over undulating terrain and steep ascents, made more challenging on the day the trio recently tackled it due to very stormy weather.
Mel (61) said she was delighted with the result, as she faces the next phase of her cancer journey, which began with great doubt and uncertainty in May this year.
“I had a pain in my shoulder and none of the doctors knew what it was,” she said. “I was diagnosed and misdiagnosed for about three months.
“I had blood tests and been to A&E due to the pain in my shoulder and when I asked for a CT scan that’s when it was discovered.
“The scan showed several clots on my lungs and lesions on my ribs. More specific blood tests found that the primary cancer was multiple myeloma. I was red flagged and everything happened within a few weeks.”
Mel said difficulties in diagnosis exist despite the fact that 17 people are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every day, and that it’s the second most common blood cancer in the world. She lamented that it was ‘par for the course with this type of cancer’.
So far, Mel has undergone four cycles of chemotherapy and stem cell harvesting and is preparing for the next, more challenging step.
“At the moment I am waiting on a phone call for a stem cell transplant which is scheduled to take place in January but may happen sooner.”
She said the procedure will ‘hopefully give me longer in remission before I relapse’.
However, she has been warned it will be an arduous process.
Mel said that with chemotherapy, patients can experience many side effects like hair loss and thinning, nausea, weak bones and disturbed sleep.
However with a stem cell transplant, which will take place at the City Hospital, those side effects are a near certainty.
“I will be in isolation for four to six weeks and experience hair loss, nausea and mouth ulcers,” she revealed, adding her family will not be allowed into what she has learned is a ‘small room’ where she’ll face the therapy without the physical support of her family.
Explaining how her sons’ fundraising efforts came about, Mel continued: “Because I’m attending the Ulster Hospital every week for chemotherapy and speak to the haematologists weekly, the boys just decided amongst themselves to raise money and they chose Macmillan.”
Mel explained their decision was due to the fact that both of her parents and her husband had been affected by cancer and had been supported by the charity.
“They said they had been talking about doing a challenge to raise money and thought they would do the Seven Sevens Challenge in the Mournes,” she said.
“I thought they needed to be acknowledged as they raised over £7,000 with tremendous support from family and friends.
“I’m very proud of the boys, however this will also help to raise awareness for multiple myeloma as not everyone knows much about it and they may be experiencing similar symptoms like myself.”
Lex, Harry and Jack Walker who completed the Mourne Seven Sevens Challenge and raised £7,048 for Macmillan Cancer which is helping their mum Mel with her treatment.
