A STOURBRIDGE woman has spoken of her joy at discovering her sister is pregnant after three battles with cancer.
Nina Gayden used to hold her terrified sister Alannah Roberts in her arms at night because she “didn’t want to die alone” after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in her teens.
Alannah suffered months of unexplained tiredness and weight loss before being diagnosed with the disease when she was 15.
By that time, she was too weak to walk to the end of the drive at the family’s Dudley home and too tired to go to school.
Immediate treatment was so urgent that doctors were unable to carry out the normal procedure of freezing her eggs so she could have children in later life.
Despite periods of remission, the cancer returned three times until 2010 when Nina and her brother Daniel were tested to see if they were a match to donate stem cells and – luckily for Alannah – her brother was.
She then underwent total body radiation and received a stem cell transplant with Daniel as the donor, and amazingly the Virgin Media worker recovered and has been cancer free for four years.
Alannah is now pregnant through IVF, using eggs harvested after her second diagnosis, and is due to give birth in October.
Stourbridge sisters Nina Gayden and Alannah Roberts
To celebrate, the sisters will attend Dudley’s Race for Life this Sunday (July 10) where they will share their inspiring story with the crowd, before Nina joins the ‘pink army’ to run the 5k course in honour of Alannah.
Nina said: “Every single person that has done Race for Life has played a part in saving my sister’s life and keeping our family complete.
“When Alannah’s cancer returned for the third time in 2010 the doctors told us something which demonstrated the importance of research.
“Wind the clock back less than ten years and she would have had very little chance of survival but, because of the funding from such events as Race for Life, amazing developments in treatment meant she had a chance.
“Without this we would have lost her I'm sure.”
Alannah, who lives in Wordsley with husband Andy, was first diagnosed in 2002 while studying for her GCSEs. She was again studying for a qualification in media studies at Stourbridge College when she relapsed in 2005 at the age of 18.
“The second diagnosis came within weeks of her getting the all clear,” said Nina. “We were all devastated, but Alannah refused to let it stand in her way. She had more chemotherapy and stem cell therapy, kicked cancer’s butt, and went off to university.
“She made the most of her cancer free life, but it was short-lived and I will never forget the moment she rang, when I was sitting in my conservatory planning my wedding, and told me she had found another lump.
“When we knew it was back for the third time we thought there was no way her body could fight it again. But she went all guns blazing into a gruelling course of treatment as it was her only chance of survival.”
Nina and Alannah with Nina’s daughter Megan
With only days to go until Dudley’s Race for Life at Himley Hall, organisers are urging women who have not secured their place to sign up before entry closes at midnight on Friday (July 8).
Jane Redman, spokeswoman for Cancer Research UK, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Alannah and Nina will be joining us at Race for Life in Dudley, but we still have places left so we’re urging anyone who has been thinking about it to commit, and take action today.”
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life is a women-only series of 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Marathon events which raises millions of pounds every year to fund research to help beat 200 types of cancer.
Jane added: “Taking part in Race for Life, alongside thousands of like-minded women, is incredibly motivating.
“The atmosphere at all the events is full of emotion as participants wear signs on their backs declaring their reasons for taking part. Many will have stories like Nina’s and Alannah’s, celebrating the lives of people dear to them who have survived.
“Race for Life events are not competitive. Whatever the distance, every step taken around the course will help bring us one step closer to the day when all cancers are cured.”
To enter Dudley Race for Life visit www.raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.
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