Anne's Story
Anne was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer in 2006. Now, after more than 300 cancer treatments, her biggest worry is growing older!
Anne was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer in 2006. Now, after more than 300 cancer treatments, her biggest worry is growing older!
Anne Liston, 77, had always attended her routine mammogram appointments because she had ‘so much cancer in her family’. Both of her parents had cancer, as well as aunts, uncles and cousins.
Following one of her routine mammograms in 2006, she received the news that would change her world.
“It was all so long ago but I can remember it was a really scary time. I’d had a routine mammogram when I got recalled because they’d found some shadows. I’m a very optimistic person so I didn’t really think anything of it, but I had to have a biopsy. Then, in the October, they told me it was stage two breast cancer.
“I found it all very hard to believe. I thought it was a mistake, but it wasn’t. After receiving my diagnosis, I had a mastectomy, my lymph nodes were removed, and I started treatment.”
“I started chemotherapy soon after my diagnosis which, as anyone who has been through it knows, was really hard.
“Back then people in Shropshire had to pay for Herceptin (a cancer drug often used to treat breast or stomach cancer) and those in Wales didn’t. I remember there had been a lot of amazing women protesting about that but when the protests were happening, I didn’t know I had cancer so I hadn’t really paid attention to it because it wasn’t relevant to me.
“By the time I was diagnosed they’d agreed to fund Herceptin for people living in Shropshire. I’m incredibly thankful it was freely available. Going through chemotherapy was horrible enough but to know what it would cost me to fund the drugs would have been appalling.
“By February 2007 I’d had six rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiotherapy in the space of 19 days. They then broke the news that it had spread to my bones and metastasized.”
Anne was told her cancer was uncurable, but she would receive treatment to keep it in check for as long as possible, or until it stopped being effective.
“Fortunately, I’ve tolerated it all this time – that’s almost 20 years!”
With almost 20 years on her cancer journey, Anne has spent some time looking back at some of her earlier treatment experiences.
She said: “I used to have my treatment in a tiny ward just off Ward 21. It was very cramped, and we were given knitted blankets. We had to sit for half a day with a canula.
“I lived in Wellington at the time so had to journey along the M54 every time I had treatment. My husband Ian used to bring me, but he passed away 12 years ago with stomach cancer. He’d also had a stroke.”
Following the loss of her husband, Anne moved to a new home in Shrewsbury.
“I go to town on the bus, and I have lovely neighbours. I do pilates, I volunteer at the Food Hub in Battlefield, and I meet a social group once a week. I really do love living here!”
“As soon as you step foot in the Centre everyone is so wonderful. I’ve seen so many people over the years and it’s lovely to see staff I’ve known since the beginning.
“I used to sit there with the canula for half a day, just listening to the machine beeping. It would really knock me out. Since then, there’s been a phenomenal improvement on what we had and it’s still developing even now. The rollout of holistic extras from Lingen Davies Cancer Support really does make a difference. It’s amazing!”
Anne’s treatment has now developed to an injection in her thigh – a process which only takes 30 minutes.
“It’s funny because I didn’t like the new Centre when it first opened. It felt so big and clinical and was usually quite empty. I soon got used to it though and quickly appreciated the new equipment and privacy.”
“I used to have regular scans every three months. Now, every six months, I have a CT scan and heart checks because the Herceptin I take can damage that. I then have an appointment with the consultants who have, so far, always said there’s been no change and I’m stable. It’s just not going away.
“It’s been stable for 20 years because of the treatment I’ve had, I know that. At one point I thought I would have to stop the Herceptin, but I’m not too concerned about that. There are lots of other choices available to me now – another thing that’s really changed since I was diagnosed in 2006.”
Anne feels like she was born under a lucky star in 1948 and says she had a wonderful childhood growing up with lots of friends.
“Most of my family have died from some form of cancer. Unfortunately, they didn’t have all the advantages of modern treatments that I’ve had. I’m not special, I just go to the hospital when I’m asked and do what I’m told.
“I was going to go back to work after my operation but then I was told about the cancer in my bones, so I took an early retirement. I’m so pleased I did because Ian and I had some time together. He really looked after me.”
In the build up to her 300th cancer treatment in May 2025, Anne decided she wanted to donate to Lingen Davies Cancer Support to mark the occasion and give something back to a place that’s been such a big part of her life.
“Having cancer doesn’t rule my life. I’ve got other things to worry about that are more to do with old age. I’ve been asked by people how I manage and cope with the knowledge that I have cancer. I’ve just had to accept it.”