How friendship has helped a Sutton Coldfield woman fight back against cancer
“She has helped me come out the other side.”
For Rebecca O’Brien, the support of her friend and colleague Michelle Worthington, after a devastating cancer diagnosis, has been vital in many ways.
Coping with the physical impact of cancer is difficult enough but, of course, there is a lot to deal with mentally as well.
In February, former Good Hope Hospital operating department practitioner Rebecca, 34, had a fall and broke her rib. It kickstarted a chain of devastating events.
She first discovered she was Covid positive and had to isolate and was then admitted to hospital where it was found out she had medullary thyroid cancer.
It had spread to her lymph nodes, affecting her nerves, arteries and vocal chords. She had major surgery within two weeks.
“Due to the surgery I have many side effects, mostly pain, breathing and swallowing which I have to have therapy for,” she says.
“I’m still on strong pain killers and it will be a long journey. With the operation, I had to be cut from one ear to another, leaving a very painful scar.”
It’s such scarring that impacted on Rebecca’s mental health and where her friend Michelle has helped.
“Psychological scarring is just as bad as the scarring that’s visible,” Rebecca says. “I spent my life overweight and managed to finally get a defined neck, only for it to be chopped up.
"Going outside with a big scar, you feel people are looking at you. You don’t feel feminine and it affected my confidence greatly.”
Realising her friend needed support, Michelle, who runs Michelle Worthington Aesthetic Health in Sutton, took it on herself to support her friend.
She uses aesthetic cosmetics to boost Rebecca’s appearance, lifting loose skin, enhancing features and ensuring her eyebrows look full.
“She is just brilliant and she has helped me come out the other side,” says Rebecca.
“To have this pamper where she does all this treatment, I look forward to it and can’t thank her enough.
"She wants to help and even though she is a small self-run business, she is travelling to where I now live in Southampton to do these treatments without asking for any payment.
"I hit rock bottom but now I am looking forward to showing off my scars with pride thanks to Michelle.
“Without her, I honestly don’t know where I would be both mentally and physically.”
