Mari Grug: Chemo 'feels like a friend' in cancer journey
- Published
Mari Grug's family visiting her in the hospital
A TV presenter has said chemotherapy felt like a friend during her cancer journey.
Mari Grug, 39, said she felt lucky to be alive after her breast cancer spread to her lymph nodes and liver and was initially told to expect palliative care.
"Throughout chemo I'd felt safe, I remember several people telling me that chemo will be like a friend to you," she said.
"It'll make you ill but you've got to see it as something positive. You've got to go through it to feel better."
Mari, from Pembrokeshire, works as a radio and television presenter and was diagnosed in May last year.
"I have metastatic breast cancer which means the cancer has spread from the primary location," she told BBC Cymru Fyw.
"At the beginning [the medical team] said that if the cancer had spread from the breast and the lymph nodes to somewhere else, that I would only get palliative care.
Mari says she felt safe when she was undergoing chemotherapy
When Mari was told the cancer had spread to her liver, she said she thought "well that's it, that's the end".
"But the liver is an organ that can grow back and they're hoping to remove parts of it," she said.
"When you've gone to a dark place in terms of thinking the worst, getting that news instead of 'sorry Mari, we can't do anything for you, we'll make you more comfortable and leave you' - that's not the situation at all."
The main challenge for Mari has been waiting between appointments and for results.
"I was able to deal with the chemotherapy," she said.
"Once the chemo finished though I felt lost, like I was being left out in the cold and that there was nothing around me.
"I had a series of three scans one week and my veins were collapsing because the chemo had affected them and I knew I had to get clear scans to have any hope of having an operation. That pressure was dreadful.
"That week I cried more than I ever had during the treatment - that was the low point."
Following six rounds of chemotherapy in July, August, September and October last year, the cancer in Mari's liver shrunk significantly.
"The liver has responded really well to chemo," Mari said.
"But the cancer in the breast wasn't budging. By now I've had the breast removed and had my lymph nodes taken out.
"What helps my state of mind is when you've had the worst possible news. The least I can do now is to feel fortunate and grateful for the chance to fight it.
"The problem with cancer is you're not sure where else it could be - is it microscopic in another place that they don't know about?"
Mari said the most likely places for her cancer to spread now are the brain and bones, but a bone scan before Christmas was clear.
"The aim now is to make sure that it hasn't gone anywhere else. I'm really hoping to have an operation on the liver in the next few months, I'm hassling surgeons in Cardiff at the moment," she said.
"I need to get this cancer out of the liver as quickly as possible."
Genetic testing has shown that Mari has one gene with a tendency towards breast and ovarian cancer and doctors are considering removing her second breast, which Mari said she would welcome.
She will also undergo radiotherapy on her chest wall to help to prevent the cancer from returning.
Mari with her co-presenters on S4C's Heno programme
With Mari sharing updates on her treatment on social media as well as continuing to present Heno on S4C, women in the same situation have been contacting her.
"I was getting loads of supportive messages saying, 'this is my situation', 'the cancer has spread to my bones but I'm still hopeful'," she said.
"That was lovely but now I'm hearing from people who've just had a diagnosis and are waiting for results and looking for advice.
"Perhaps I give people a bit of hope - the fact that I'm a mum to three young children, I can go to work, I can go the Eisteddfod and enjoy myself, it shows that life doesn't have to come to a stop."
Mari's husband Gareth and their children have been a source of comfort.
"You want to make the most of every second - when you get a diagnosis like this you're going to make the most of every concert, every football tournament," she said.
Mari and Gareth with their children Steffan, Tomos and Hanna
Mari's advice to others is to seek medical help over any health concern.
"If you're worried about changes in your body, visit your doctor without delay," she said.
"Although the NHS deserves so much praise there is still a wait in front of you. Staying home worrying doesn't help anyone - go to the doctor and hopefully there won't be anything to worry about.
"But if there is, you've started on the journey towards treatment and you're in the system to be seen as soon as possible."
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