Mum ‘fights to be heard’ after losing friends to ‘forgetfulness’.

A mum is ‘fighting to be heard’ after losing two of her closest friends within months.

Kathryn Gordon Orr, from Maghull, gathered 20 women in solidarity in September 2021 to create an awareness campaign. Foreigners from across the UK have been united by their diagnosis of incurable secondary breast cancer.

The bond between the women involved turned into real-life friendships and mother-of-one Kathryn, along with Gill Cory, from Southport, and Lancashire teacher Kate Rackham launched the Fighting to be Heard Foundation.

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The all-volunteer charity is proud to continue the women’s efforts to raise awareness, but also to go some way to easing the financial pressure felt by those living with terminal illness – including Gill and Kate.

Kathryn, a 48-year-old marketing consultant, told the ECHO: “Kate was a friend by choice, she wasn’t a friend by circumstance. The thing about Kate was that she was amazingly balanced – she had a bit of a zeal about her and you always knew where you stood with her, but at the same time she was so much fun.

“She was so cool, beautiful and gorgeous in every way. She was there for me as much as I was for her – it was a perfectly equal friendship.

“With Gill, we called her Joan Collins. She was the glamorous grandmother of the group, bringing glamor to every occasion. He was a wonderful person. I was very lucky to have her in my life.”

Grandmother-of-two Gill was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2019. The compliance adviser and former magistrate, who died aged 61 on April 30, was the charity’s treasurer.

Teacher and mother Kate Rackham, who was well known for documenting her journey online as Teacher With Cancer, died aged 45 just last week, Thursday 13 June. The mother-of-two was diagnosed with oestrogen-responsive breast cancer despite having no ‘risk factors’ six years ago.

Kathryn said: “I haven’t seen cancer with them. They hid it so well. One thing that is so remarkable about both, but also difficult, is that these women are so brave. They put on make-up and wigs and kept working, so when they died, people were shocked because they hid it so well.”

Within a year of meeting the 20 women, Kathryn said five of them had lost their lives to the “forgotten form” of breast cancer. She claims that once women are diagnosed, the services available to them are limited – despite the fact that women “still want to fight”.

Kathryn added: “Women just don’t lose their fight because they are diagnosed with incurable cancer. I know that. They want to be heard and not just written off. People are losing their jobs, cancer is an expensive scenario, but there is little financial support out there.”

With costs rising as a result of the ongoing cost of living crisis, a recent study by Macmillan Cancer Support, reported that almost a quarter (24%) of people with cancer have had to cut costs by either buying less food or doing more few meals, including 26% of those currently on treatment.

The foundation hopes to ease this struggle by raising funds for its service users by releasing a book, featuring dedicated chapters from Gill and Kate, in the next few months.

The book, launched to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, is currently in need of a sponsor. Those interested can contact the charity Here.

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