Humour got us through our breast cancer treatment, say sisters

Sisters who were diagnosed with breast cancer within a week of each other two years ago said they used “humour to get us through”.

Jill Dawson, 60, and 56-year-old Jan Tuncer, from Wallasey in Merseyside, said that while discovering they both had cancer in autumn 2023 had been “a big shock… we just had to get on with it”.

Following treatment, they have both been given the all-clear and have rekindled their shared love of running.

They now plan to take part in the fundraising Shine Night Walk in Liverpool on 5 September for the Cancer Research UK charity.

Mother-of-three Ms Dawson said: “I remember thinking when I first found out that I can do this and take one for the team, and I can be the one to get it in our family, and then my sister was diagnosed as well.”

She added the “hardest part for me was the tiredness and not being able to do our usual activities, including running which we both love”.

The sisters’ medical appointments were around the same time from diagnosis to treatment so Ms Dawson, who is a cabin crew attendant, said “our journey stayed so close together throughout”.

Ms Tuncer said: “In some ways it was good to help each other but it meant our family worried about two people at a time.”

She said they told each other about their diagnoses on her birthday, adding: “Immediately, we were using humour to get us through.

“I remember I didn’t even cry. We said ‘it is what it is, let’s get on with it’.

“It’s like joining a club nobody wants to be part of.

“We were similar in our journey, both joking as a coping mechanism.

“We were brought up with that type of resilience and now we are proof that there really is life after cancer.”

Ms Dawson was diagnosed with grade three invasive lobular breast cancer and had her right breast removed before having reconstructive surgery and radiotherapy.

She will take a hormone drug for the next 10 years and is currently on the waiting list to have her breasts made symmetrical.

Her younger sister was diagnosed with grade two breast cancer and underwent surgery followed by radiotherapy.

Both women, who will be monitored with annual mammograms, have returned to their jobs and resumed their hobbies.

Ms Tuncer said she was looking forward to next month’s night walk, adding: “This event isn’t about finishing first.

“It doesn’t matter if people power walk or pace themselves – every step counts.”