Belfast mother opens up about making memories with her children after incurable cancer diagnosis

A Belfast mother living with incurable cancer is raising awareness about breast cancer while continuing to make memories with her young family.

Sara McKenzie, a mother of two, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33 after giving birth to her youngest daughter, Willow. After nine months of surgery and gruelling treatment, she was discharged, but in March 2022, tests confirmed that stage four breast cancer had spread to her bones and caused fractures in her spine.

The 37-year-old was told that the disease could only be controlled from that point forward and was now incurable. From there, she began creating a “living list” full of memories to make and enjoy with her Ross and children Noah and Willow.

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In an interview with Belfast Live, she said she wanted to talk about her journey in the hope of helping others by raising awareness.

“I will do whatever I can to raise awareness and help anyone,” she said.

“In terms of my health and how I am doing, I have checkups every three months. My checkups are showing that it is stable, as if the cancer has not progressed any further. That indicates that obviously the treatment is working to keep it stable.

“Obviously the treatment is to do that and give me more time rather than any kind of cure because I’ve been told there’s no cure.

“It’s been a very, very challenging time and I’ve had a lot of hospital admissions due to a lot of temperature spikes, often with unknown sources of infection. My body is definitely a lot more vulnerable to things, and I feel like the last couple of years have taken their toll on my body and my health in terms of my overall well-being. But yeah, as far as tests go, I’m stable, but it’s been really challenging.

“There have been nights where I’ve had temperature spikes and I’ve been shaking and shivering in the middle of the night, which is obviously very dangerous for me. The next morning, I’m not there. The kids are waking up and Mommy’s not there because she’s been admitted to the hospital.”

Sara said things have been tough with her children, who know their mom is sick. Their “living list” is ongoing, with new adventures and things to do added each time one comes to mind.

The family visited Harry Potter World, they went to Florida last year, which was their biggest destination at the top of their list.

“It was absolutely unbelievable,” Sara added.

“It was so magical and it was just the four of us and we had so much fun together. We did Harry Potter World in London and we went to Dubai this year too. We also camped in a tent and Willow learned how to ride a bike.

“We keep adding to the list. To be honest, I know we are in a very difficult position and situation, but I also have to feel grateful because I wouldn’t have done any of these brilliant things if I wasn’t in the situation I am in.

“For that, I’m very grateful. My sisters set up a Go Fund Me page shortly after my diagnosis and made it clear that the money wasn’t for treatment, it was for me to be able to do things with my family, with my husband and my children.

“I’m obviously unemployed, so for those memories and things that I’ve been involved in, I’m very grateful. It also puts things into perspective for me, that the really simple things about being a mom are what matter.

“Going to sports day for them, to see the kids run their races and win and celebrate. It’s amazing. Yes, we have these fancy things on the list, but we also have simple things on the list. We’re just trying to soak up every moment.”

Sara uses her journey, through social media, to raise awareness about breast cancer. Just 33 when she was first diagnosed, she says she was “the picture of health” and would have been active, exercising three times a week.

She said: “You never think it will be you. But cancer doesn’t care who you are, or how old you are, or how healthy you are.

“My message would be: be aware of your body. If you have the slightest concern, get a check-up. Don’t let it go, even if you think it’s something small or irrelevant, get a check-up.”

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