Inspirational Leeds woman shares hopes and fears as she marks one year since terminal lung cancer diagnosis

Natasha had first noticed something wrong with her health during a Queen’s Jubilee party held in her holiday home in Scotland, with her breathing sounding as if she had “swallowed a squeaky dog toy”.

The symptoms returned a few months later and Natasha, who was a non-smoker, was told she had lung cancer. In the new year, she was told it was terminal.

Natasha, now 50, said she feels “strange” thinking back to where she was a year ago. 

The former primary school teacher from Guiseley said: “When I got my diagnosis last year, it was as though my world was almost falling apart.

"I am actually a very optimistic person - not naively optimistic - but I've always been more looking for the opportunities and I guess more glass half full than half empty.

"So when I was told that I had stage four [lung cancer], it was just huge. I remember struggling to breathe and struggling to actually process it.”

Coming to terms with having an incurable disease was difficult, but Natasha did not expect losing her independence would also take a toll on her.

The mum-of-two said: “I had gone from living a very busy life, a fabulous career, being really busy with my children, running them to their after school clubs, taking myself off to yoga on an evening, all these other things and having that sense of independence. And then all of a sudden that was taken away. It was just like ‘wow’.”

Natasha, who devoted much of her time last year to raising awareness of lung cancer among non-smokers, said she is in a "much better" place now.

This is off the back of her latest scan results, which show a reduction of the primary tumour by more than 90 percent.

And Natasha said it is all thanks to her "marvellous, magical medicine" osimertinib, a treatment she began taking shortly after her diagnosis.

She said: "It does come with its side effects. But when you consider the benefits, they really outweigh the side effects.”

Fatigue has been one of the more difficult side effects to manage, Natasha said. It was also one of the reasons she decided to step away from her career in teaching.

Natasha said: "I felt so safe at school. But I just couldn't manage it. I tried, but the fatigue was just so huge. It just completely wiped me out. I managed half a day, I came home and I just went straight to bed. And I did that a few times.”

While Natasha is grateful for the year she has had and the many things she has achieved, reaching the one-year mark has induced other fears.

She said: “You start to think, ‘oh, crikey, a year’s gone. Does that mean I've only got six months left? Does that mean I've only got a year?’ Those sorts of thoughts start to creep in.

“The most difficult thing is living to every three months. My medication can stop working at any point. That's the reason why I've got to keep going back to the hospital every three months.

"It's really hard and hopefully, when I get my results [of the next scan] at the beginning of February, I'll be able to live again for the next three months.”

Over the last year, Natasha hosted many fundraising projects for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation including a climb up the nation's highest peak Scafell Pike, in the Lake District National Park, in September.

More than 50 people from across the UK joined her challenge. Among them were eight people with stage four epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive lung cancer.

Last year, Natasha also became a trustee of EGFR+, a cancer charity founded in 2019 which hopes to unite and support people with the condition. The group hope to host a series of events this year, including a wellness day in March. Find out more information about EGFR+ via its social media channels.