Hemel Hempstead cancer survivor thanks woman who saved her life

A cancer patient has met and thanked the woman she credits with saving her life.

Rosie Coke, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was inspired to get checked for breast cancer after seeing Rebecca Hartley, from Manchester, talking about her own early symptoms on TV.

She went to the doctor the next day, her cancer was diagnosed early and she is now in remission.

During an interview on BBC Three Counties Radio, she was surprised by a visit from Ms Hartley and both women tearfully hugged and shared their experiences.

In August 2023 Ms Coke was watching television when a programme about breast cancer started.

On it, she heard Ms Hartley talk about symptoms she herself had suffered with but had “never put two and two together”.

Ms Coke told her seeing that TV show was the “start of the change of my life”.

She said: “Without your programme, I didn’t even think it had anything to do with that.”

The mother-of-three added: “I never thought about meeting her; it’s just you think ‘Wow, if I hadn’t had done this my life would be different.’

“She’s certainly a hero to me.”

Ms Hartley described the meeting as “very emotional and very special”.

She has been interviewed on TV, radio and for magazines but said this was the first time she had met another person who had directly benefited from hearing her story.

She said: “It has made me realise it has an impact.

“We’ve been given the chance to go out and help, which we never asked for, but is a blessing”

She told Ms Hartley: “You are amazing, you will go on to influence people in the same way”

Ms Coke said: “I can’t say thank you enough. I wish I could find a new word that depicts thank you”

“If she had kept this to herself, as lots of people do, then I wouldn’t be here, it’s that simple.”

Nikki Barraclough, chief executive of Prevent Breast Cancer, described the two women’s meeting as “one of the highlights of my career”.

She added: “Almost 56,000 people are diagnosed every year; about 11,500 will lose their life; it’s about raising awareness of the signs and the symptoms.

“The earlier breast cancer can be diagnosed, the better the outcome”

According to the NHS, symptoms of breast cancer in women may include the following:

• a lump, or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit
• a change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling that may look like orange peel or redness
• a change in size or shape of one of both breasts
• nipple discharge if you are not pregnant or breastfeeding which may have blood in it
• a change in the shape or look of your nipple such as it turning inwards or a rash on it
• pain in your breast or armpit that does not go away

You should see a GP with any concerns and NHS information about breast cancer in men can be found here.