Fighting-fit Kathryn shows cancer who’s boss!

A fighting-fit health board executive is defying the odds after undergoing cutting-edge new cancer treatment which has shrunk her tumour by half.
In January, Kathryn Davies, 47, was diagnosed with Exon-19 deletion, a rare non-inherited genetic mutation which caused primary cancer to grow in her lungs and secondary cancer to spread to her brain.
But after just two months of targeted ‘precision medicine’ treatment - which involves her taking chemotherapy tablets every day - Kathryn is now completely free of secondary cancer, while the tumour in her lung has shrunk by 50%.
And Kathryn, who is Executive Director of Commissioning, Therapies and Health Science at Hywel Dda University Health Board, believes that her dedication to daily exercise and healthy eating has put her in the best possible shape to tackle the disease.
She said: “I’m progressing really well; my side effects are minimal to say the least, and I continue to be symptom-free.
“I feel strong, both physically and psychologically, and I believe that daily running and focussed nutrition has made all the difference in the world. I have always taken physical fitness seriously and gain a huge amount of enjoyment from exercising, particularly in the fresh air and on the coastal paths near my home on the Gower.
“I recently climbed Ben Nevis while I was on holiday in Scotland with my husband, and I am continuing to run every day – in fact, I ran 50 miles in a week in the Outer Hebrides while I was on holiday.
“The message I want to get across is that there is, rightly, very strong evidence about how you can help prevent cancer by choosing a healthy lifestyle, but if the unforeseen diagnosis happens, I think that if you can focus on your physical fitness and your mental wellbeing, then it can help you cope.”
Kathryn said that her diagnosis in January came “totally out of the blue,” as she did not have any lifestyle risk factors, and has been a non-smoker all of her life.
She added: “With some cancers there’s a tendency to have a bit of a guilt or embarrassment associated with it and some people don’t like talking about it. But I want people to feel comfortable talking about a diagnosis of cancer so that we can start to take some of the fear out of it. One of my big things is to say ‘this is me, I’m no different, let’s carry on working, living and loving life as we did before.’”
Kathryn has now been invited to rub shoulders with the likes of former US President Bill Clinton at a prestigious medicine and technology summit in Wyoming, where she has pledged to “fly the flag” for the Welsh NHS, which she is “fiercely” proud of.
She added: “The treatment I’m getting at NHS Wales is world class; to have that within your health system, on your doorstep, free at the point of care – what can you say really? You can’t ask for anything more.
“The NHS has given me a wonderful professional and executive career so far. I am so proud to be part of such an amazing organisation.
“I said to someone the other day that cancer can take so much, but I’m not going to allow it to take anything from me or my wonderful family and friends.
“You have a choice as to how you react to things, and I believe that you can take charge of how you approach it and how you live your life. I’ve always lived life to the max and I have no intention of changing that!”
In September, Kathryn will join a group of 80 friends and family to run the Swansea Bay 10k in aid of Cancer Research UK – a charity close to her heart.
Anyone who would like to support their efforts by making a donation can visit justgiving.com/Kathryn-Davies10