‘Don’t cry for me’ says breast cancer awareness campaigner in her final post

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A breast cancer awareness campaigner, teacher and mother of two has died aged 45.

Kath Rackham had campaigned to raise awareness of the disease since she was diagnosed aged 39 with oestrogen-receptive breast cancer.

In her final post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, she said: “If you’re reading this, it means I have died. But do not cry for me. I have lived my life on my own terms, the way I have wanted to. I joined X because I needed an outlet, what I got was so much more.

“You made me feel validated in my feelings and much less alone.”

Ms Rackham worked with the campaign group Fighting to be Heard, which focuses on raising awareness of “secondary breast cancer”, where the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

According to charity Breast Cancer Now, an estimated 61,000 people live with secondary breast cancer in the UK. In around 5 per cent of women, breast cancer has already spread by the time it is diagnosed.

Every year 11,500 women die from Breast Cancer and it is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women globally.

In January the NHS was prompted to send a warning over the increasing numbers of women who were missing appointments for breast cancer screening.

Data showed that in 2022-23, 46 per cent of eligible women did not attend an appointment – up from 35 per cent the previous year.

A week before her final post on 13 June, Ms Rackham wrote on X: “The last week or so has been so surreal. Hospital stays, illness, procedures and then to be told ‘there is nothing more we can do.’. I need a bit of time.

“I’m not home...Surrounded by love, family and friends. Everyone is rallying around and I have so much support. Despite everything I feel blessed.”