Spotlight on health: The MoonWalk

A woman from Southfields is taking part in a charity walk after being diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago.

Ebru Oraman, 44, from Merton Road, was at a routine check-up in Turkey in 2006, where she lived at the time, when the radiologist found a suspicious lump.

When she was checked again in two months the lump had doubled in size.

She had two operations to remove the lump and check the surrounding area, followed by six rounds of chemotherapy and 22 rounds of
radiotherapy.

She said: “My diagnosis came out of the blue and it was a really hard year for everyone.

“I have no family history of breast cancer, my dad was unwell at the time, I was working full-time and two months before my diagnosis my then boyfriend, now husband, and I had got engaged.

“To say I was shocked is an understatement, but when you get the diagnosis you just go through it and take one day at a time.

“My fiancé was an amazing support. I also have a supportive family and incredible friends who stuck by me.

“They came with me when I had chemotherapy and I felt really, really supported throughout.”

Ms Oraman now has two sons, but her ongoing treatment presented problems for her.

She said: “I took the hormone therapy tamoxifen for three years.

“At the time, the recommended treatment was five years, now 10.

“However, I really wanted to have children, so I discussed with my oncologist about coming off tamoxifen after three years and she gave me her blessing.

“We couldn’t conceive right away and I was unable to have IVF as my tumour was hormone dependent, so we had to try a few different things.

“Luckily, we had frozen some embryos when I was first diagnosed, before I started chemotherapy.

“That is how we conceived our first son, now aged nine. Then a few years later I conceived my second son, now six, naturally.”

Ms Oraman is excited to be taking part in the MoonWalk.

She said: “I always knew at some point I wanted to do something to give back, but I hadn’t actually thought too much about it. I think I was not ready.

“Then, I somehow came across The MoonWalk in 2020 and just impulsively signed up to the half marathon, which was, of course, postponed.

“I think that this coming year it is even more important for people to participate.

“Breast cancer is a serious illness, maybe the most important for a woman, and it has been on the backburner because of Covid.

“Breast cancer hasn’t gone away and has been a monster getting bigger in the background during the pandemic.

“So it is a very important year to do The MoonWalk. It is like a reboot.

“Your health is a priority, even in a pandemic. Travel can be put aside, school can be put aside, but you cannot put your health aside.”

 

Pictured: Ebru Oraman - Going through treatment