Mum ‘noticed something’ in shower and ‘assumed she was going to die’

A mother-of-two is commemorating the 10th anniversary of her cancer diagnosis by undertaking a canoeing expedition along Sweden’s Harken river, wild camping throughout the journey, after cancer taught her to « not take life for granted anymore ». Vicky Keep, 51, was diagnosed with stage three lobular breast cancer in 2016, after discovering « quite a big lump » in her breast while showering.

Following a single mastectomy, six months of chemotherapy and daily radiotherapy, she received the news that she had beaten cancer in January 2018. Alongside two of her closest friends, Vicky will paddle the full length of the Harken river in northern Sweden this September, navigating rapids, porterage through dams, and surviving in the wilderness for eight days, in a challenge she described as « not going to be a breeze, but something that will feel like a big achievement when we do complete it ».

She aims to raise £10,000 for Odyssey, an « incredible charity » that assists cancer sufferers in rediscovering their enjoyment of life. « Reaching 10 years is something that I’ve got to celebrate, » Vicky said.

Vicky, who resides in Whitstable and works in catering, found a lump in her left breast in May 2016 when, after a friend mentioned she had discovered a lump in her own breast, she realised she had never examined herself before. That same evening, while showering, she felt « quite a big lump », yet assumed it « can’t be anything sinister », believing breast cancer lumps were typically pea-sized.

She left it for a month, convinced it « might just go », but eventually visited her GP. She was swiftly referred for a mammogram, and recalled « that was the first point when I thought it might be something sinister, because there were two nurses in there who were looking at each other with a mild look of concern ».

Following an ultrasound and biopsies, she attended an appointment with a consultant at 4pm on June 22, 2016, and presumed that « they’re not going to tell me any bad news that late in the day ». Nevertheless, she received the devastating news that she had lobular breast cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes.

« You just don’t see it coming, » said Vicky, a mother of two daughters aged 17 and 21, who is marking her 25th wedding anniversary this year with her husband, Gary.

« I remember just sitting there hearing these words: ‘Sorry, it is breast cancer’. They’d also found a tumour in my armpit as well, and it was quite a large tumour.

« My first question to him was: ‘How am I going to tell my girls?’. They were seven and just turned 12 at the time… you immediately just assume you’re going to die. And I did have one of the most aggressive types of cancer. It was stage three, grade three. So when you actually looked at the statistics, the five-year survival rates were actually quite low. »

Vicky was scheduled for a mastectomy three weeks later, during which her affected lymph nodes were also removed, and six weeks following the operation she commenced chemotherapy. After six months of chemotherapy, she had a month’s break before embarking on daily radiotherapy for a month.

She was informed that with the surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, her five-year survival rate was approximately 65 percent, but « the way I was looking at that was like, well, that’s a 35 percent chance of me dying ». Nevertheless, in January 2018, Vicky was told there is No Evidence of Disease, (Ned) following a gruelling 19 months of cancer treatment and surgeries.

« Now life is completely different. I very rarely think about cancer, but I didn’t think I’d be here to be saying that, » she said.

Over the past eight years, Vicky has undertaken numerous challenges to raise funds for cancer charities, such as Cancer Research’s Walk All Over Cancer, where she and her family walked 10,000 steps a day throughout March 2018. To mark the 10th anniversary of her diagnosis, Vicky wanted to « do something big », something that would raise a game-changing amount of money for a less-well-known cancer charity.

Vicky first encountered Odyssey shortly after completing her cancer treatment, when she received an invitation to one of its retreats designed for those living with, or who have survived, cancer. The charity supports individuals battling the disease, those who have finished treatment and are working to rebuild their lives, as well as those facing a terminal diagnosis, offering residential breaks « where you basically challenge yourself to do things which are out of your comfort zone ».

« Had I known what was on the agenda for that week, I would never have signed up for it… » said Vicky, who opted not to reveal the itinerary so as to preserve the element of surprise for future participants.

« But it was such an incredible week that when I came back, it just kind of felt like my life was going to be okay. I might not survive five, 10 years, but I’ve got to make sure that the life that I’m living is worthwhile and counted. It gave me a completely different outlook on life. »

Upon discovering that Odyssey was organising an expedition to canoe Sweden’s Harken river in September 2026, Vicky resolved that this was precisely the challenge she had been seeking, even enlisting two of her closest friends to join her.

« I phoned my best friend… She was like, ‘100% – 10 years is something to be celebrated. Let’s do something that will challenge us both’, » Vicky said.

A close friend of Vicky’s, whom she met through her local soul choir and discovered had battled cancer simultaneously, undergoing identical surgery and treatments, also agreed to join the challenge. Alongside paddling the river’s 150-kilometre stretch, the team will encounter numerous obstacles throughout their journey.

« There will be some small rapids in areas, and some dams that we have to use porterage to move the canoes between, » Vicky explained, adding that she was told by someone who has previously canoed the river that « at one point you have to carry all your equipment three-and-a-half kilometres to the other side, where you have to then put your boats back in ».

The group will be wild camping and cooking over open fires throughout the expedition, and while temperatures sit at around 12 degrees during the day in September, they can plummet close to freezing at night. « I’ve never done wild camping, » Vicky confessed.

« It’s not just wild camping. There are no toilets, so it’s wild pooing and all that! That is panicking me beyond what I can imagine, I’m like, Oh, God, this is way out of my comfort zone! »

Vicky and her companions will commence their training in April, having been advised to swim plenty of front crawl to build the muscles required for rowing. They will also undertake some sea swimming, « because that’s more challenging and it’s cold », alongside taking the kayaks out for lengthy sessions.

Each team member is aiming to raise a minimum of £1,500 to cover their participation costs, with an overall fundraising target of £10,000, a portion of which will be donated to Odyssey.

Vicky’s fundraising page is available on GoFundMe.