How Bromley mum fought like a warrior after cancer diagnosis – inspired by Sydenham pupil daughter

When Carmen Loscialpo was struggling to cope through gruelling cancer treatment, the strength to carry on came from an unexpected source – her two young daughters aged just eight and five at the time.
Carmen, 36, said: “The fear of the unknown and how to cope alone was bringing me down until I saw how well my girls were coping
with everything, after the initial shock.
“Kloe’s strength was a turning point for me and from then I fought like a warrior. I believe she saved my life.”
Kloe, now 10, raised funds at her school, Haseltine Primary School in Haseltine Road, Sydenham, and also donated her hair for another young patient.
Two years on, Carmen, a bartender in a Mayfair casino, has never felt more confident. The family, from Bromley, is supporting a fundraising run, Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, and hope their story will encourage people to take part.
Money raised helps scientists find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, saving lives as the charity fights back from the impact of the pandemic.
In May 2019 Carmen was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer which had spread to her lymph nodes.
“There is no history of breast cancer in my family but I always checked myself after a shower and I found a tiny lump,” she said.
“I knew something was wrong straight away and that my life would change forever.”
Within days a biopsy confirmed the worst. Within three weeks she was having chemotherapy. Carmen already felt vulnerable – her extended family are in Italy.
But when her then partner walked out the day before her first chemotherapy treatment, saying he could not give her the emotional support she needed, it almost broke Carmen, who said: “I will never forget the moment he walked away.
He said he had enough personal problems of his own and he couldn’t cope with more.
“The first two months after I had been diagnosed I had given up hope. I spent too much time Googling my disease and that only made me think the worst.”
Carmen said the turning point came after Kloe decided to donate her long hair to make a wig for another child with cancer.
Kloe also started fundraising and became an advocate in her school, going up on stage and raising awareness about breast cancer.
Carmen said: “Kloe especially became my inspiration. She looked after her little sister (Keira, now eight) when I was too ill to. She has grown up so much into a young brave little woman. She never gave up on me”. Carmen opted for a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery although only one breast was affected by cancer.
She arranged a special birthday party for Kloe to make up for two she had missed because of lockdown and her mum’s illness.
“I told her before the party I wanted her to know she had saved my life,” said Carmen.
Carmen also praised her new partner, Daniel. She said: “He is amazing. We started off as friends. He was there for me and now we are in love.”