Alison Tatum

NEWS is important to us here at the Tribune, but for cancer survivor Alison Tatum it was a matter of life and death.

When Ms Tatum’s son, Jack, saw a news item about a woman with a cough and a bad back who turned out to have stage four lung cancer, he insisted that his mum – who had those same symptoms – went to the doctor.

After a GP visit and a routine scan, doctors told Ms Tatum, 55, who lives in Finsbury Park and worked for 22 years at Ambler Primary School, that she had terminal lung cancer and as little as 12 months to live.

“I was completely shocked, because I didn’t feel unwell. I’ve never been ill,” Ms Tatum told the Tribune.

“I didn’t even class my cough as a cough because I smoked – I just thought it was clearing my throat. If it wasn’t for that article on the news I would never have gone to the doctor.”

Doctors later found that the cancer had also spread to her brain.

But after six harsh rounds of chemo­therapy and two rounds of radiotherapy, Ms Tatum’s consultant gave her more unexpected news: she was cancer free.

“The treatment has been amazing, it’s just phenomenal what they do” Ms Tatum added. “My consultant says I’m a walking miracle.

“My cancer is incurable, so it’s just a matter of time, really. But at the moment, my scans are clear.”

Teachers, parents and pupils at Ambler – where Ms Tatum started as a dinner lady and later worked in the school office – supported her throughout her treatment, raising money and sending flowers.

“I was completely blown away by their support and love. I knew every child’s name in that school.”

What was it like to face the possibility of a life cut short?

“The most heart-wrenching thing is leaving people behind, especially when they need your support as well as you need theirs.

“I think a lot of people can’t cope with that, but I was the opposite. I’ve always been, ‘don’t let it get to me’.

“I don’t feel sorry for myself – I feel there are people in a worse situation than I am.”

Ms Tatum added: “When you’re first diagnosed, the cancer is the first thing you think about as soon as you wake up. It’s not at the forefront of my mind any more.”

Ms Tatum has stopped working now to prioritise time and travel with her family, including cinema trips and cooking with her five-year-old grandson Francis, and listening to soul music.

She is also sharing her experience publicly as part of a fundraising drive for Cancer Research UK, which funded early clinical trials of the drugs that helped to save her life.