Nantwich nurse beats breast cancer and holds “Debbie’s Not Dead” party

A Nantwich nurse fought off breast cancer and held a “Debbie’s Not Dead” party to celebrate and raise more than £2,000 for St Luke’s Hospice.

Deborah Brown, 41, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer after feeling ridges in her breast last Easter.

She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy for the rare type of cancer, which accounts for just 15% of all breast cancers.

Deborah (pictured, right, with sister Lauren) also had genetic testing and discovered in December she has the BRCA 1 gene fault, highlighted globally by Angelina Jolie.

This significantly increases the risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Like the Hollywood actress, Deborah made the difficult decision to have a preventative mastectomy and surgery to remove her ovaries.

She said: “I was so shocked, I didn’t stop crying.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I have always been quite a fit person, I run and try to eat healthily.

“I actually didn’t stop working out throughout the treatment as it was my way of coping.”

Deborah attended St Luke’s Day Hospice services for eight weeks as part of her recovery and received support and advice from nurses, as well as complementary therapies including Reflexology.

She says she found Day Hospice a relaxing and welcoming environment.

“I wasn’t going to come but I needed something to stop me stressing out, and I was pleasantly surprised,” she added.

“The Day Hospice has a nice big living room, a big garden and tea and coffee on tap so it was very relaxing. I also had a great rapport with the team.

“Reflexology is so expensive so I don’t think I would have had it if I hadn’t come to St Luke’s.

“It really helped me to cope with the stress of treatment.

“That’s why I wanted to raise money for St Luke’s because I had all that treatment for free and I wanted to give something back.”

So Debbie, who hopes to return to work at Leighton Hospital next month, decided to throw a “Debbie’s Not Dead” party to celebrate the end of her treatment and to raise money.

She organised a raffle which was well supported by local businesses in Nantwich, including the Wilbraham Arms which donated £500.

With the help of friends and family, the party raised £4,020.

Deborah split this equally between St Luke’s Hospice and Shine Bright Foundation, a charity which helps fund research into triple negative breast cancer, raises awareness of it and supports those diagnosed with the cancer.

Clare Wolff, Day Hospice Manager at St Luke’s Hospice, said: “The nursing and therapy team found Deborah to be an absolute inspiration.

“She has faced such a lot in the past 12 months and made some incredibly difficult decisions.

“It has been a privilege for us to be able to support Deborah following her diagnosis and through treatment.

“St Luke’s Day Hospice services support patients and carers from diagnosis.

“We are so grateful to her for raising such a lot of money for our Hospice. It means that others will be able to access the support that she has here at St Luke’s.”