A mum is raising awareness of a rare cancer which has had a “life changing” impact on her daughter.

Bianca Leder’s eldest daughter Saskia underwent major surgery to remove more than 200 lymph nodes after she was diagnosed with a type of thyroid cancer that affects less than 100 people a year in the UK.

To highlight the need for early tests and also raise funds for Young Lives vs Cancer, 51-year-old Bianca will take on a cold water dip in Loch Ken in Dumfries and Galloway on World Cancer Day on Tuesday – which also happens to be a few days before Saskia’s 25th birthday.

Bianca, who lives in nearby Parton, said: “I wanted to do something as you just feel helpless as a parent.

“She has two social workers, one is from Young Lives vs Cancer and this popped up on Facebook so I thought I’d do that.

“Saskia lives in Manchester and in August she was diagnosed with a really rare thyroid cancer, medullary.

“There are about 30 cases a year in the north west of England and 60 in the UK.

Saskia shows her scares
Saskia shows her scares

“She had been going to the doctors but because of her age it was dismissed as anxiety or stress. The effect would have been a lot less if it had been found a lot earlier.

“This is for life. It’s not one of those you can kill with chemo or anything like that, it’s really weird.

“It’s a life changing thing, it takes away the old you and you have to adjust to the new you. It’s a bit of a journey she has to do.

“It’s been a long time grieving and trying to come to terms with why – but there’s no why. There’s so many things she’s had support from that are not NHS – things would have gone a lot better if the doctors had listened.

“I want to raise awareness for children and young people and let them know it’ll affect them as well and they need to push for investigations.”

Saskia, who lives in the Tyldesley area of Manchester, was often tired and lacking energy and had chest paints and shortness of breath.

She was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer in August, with the shortness of breath caused by the lymph nodes increasing and pressing on her lungs. Her diarrhoea was down to the calcitonin levels the cancer was producing and she also suffered weight loss.

Saskia after her operation
Saskia after her operation

She underwent a massive operation in November as surgeons carried out a bilateral neck dissection to remove 204 lymph nodes. They also performed a total thyroidectomy – removing her entire thyroid – and a medium sternotomy.

Bianca, who moved to Parton from Manchester in 2018, said: “They got out most of it but there’s one left under an artery in the chest and one longer strip in the neck next to a nerve they couldn’t take out or it would do some damage.

“She’s got an appointment on February 12 and we think they’re going to start her with some tablets which will reduce the cancer – but it’ll never go away. It’s a life changing thing.”

Young Lives vs Cancer has been a huge help to the family and to help give something back, Bianca will head to Galloway Activity Centre on Tuesday to complete a cold water dip on World Cancer Day.

Saskia
Saskia

She is hoping her efforts will raise £1,000 for the charity, with £23 paying for an hour of support from a social worker and £60 helping to pay for a night in a Young Lives vs Cancer Homes from Home.

Bianca – who hosts Local Initiatives in New Galloway’s weekly Hubbub sessions –said: “I started cold water swimming in 2023 – but the swimming I do is in the nice weather, I haven’t done it in February before!

Click here for more news and sport from Dumfries and Galloway.

“I’m a bit of a wimp so I have a wet suit and all the kit. I stopped in August last year when we had the diagnosis because I just couldn’t.

“Some of my friends are going to do it ti. It’ll probably be very cold – my friend was in last week and it was 5.9 degrees!

“I think I’ll be OK with the wetsuit, although it will be a shock at first.”

You can sponsor Bianca by visiting https://fundraise.younglivesvscancer.org.uk/fundraisers/biancaleder.

And you can find out more about Young Lives vs Cancer at www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk

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