Well I was approached while we, while we were on a visit. We had to see the consultant, and while we were on that visit – my daughter and I – we were approached, as I said, by a couple of people who talked about trials. And I said yes, I’d be quite willing to help anybody – it won’t necessarily help me, but it will help future generations. Because I’d already done this pneumococcal trial. I’m quite happy to help. I don’t mind. I mean, I’m old, I’m almost, you know [laughing].

The, the point is – I’ve had lots of help. I’ve, I suffered for twelve years with artificial – with having hips done, one after the other, and half a knee. And therefore it was my way of perhaps giving a little bit back. Not a lot, but a little bit.

To the sort of medical –

Yeah. As I said, the [hospital] were very good to me with my joints. And that. And I just thought well, I can’t do much for them. But so a little – a trial like that, fine, I was quite happy to do it.

And if you don’t hear any results from Genomics England, what do you feel about that?

I don’t mind. It might not be [sigh] – [laughing] Maybe my biopsies won’t be worth anything. I don’t know. I don’t really know what I think, what to expect. I don’t know. It’s all a learning curve. Like another friend of mine who’s got cancer, she said, “It’s a journey. And you don’t know any more than the next – what the next week will bring.” You don’t.

And so you mentioned there you’re not so bothered if you didn’t hear results, or hear anything back?

No. I mean, obviously they’ll do a lot of people. They’ll approach a lot of people for this sort of thing. Some will help. Some won’t be able to help. Some -thing, if I don’t hear anything, then – you know – fine. I’ve done what I could do, and I can’t do any more, so.

But you don’t know. I mean, there’s no guarantee it comes down through the family. I don’t think anybody really knows. They’re looking at it to find – If they can find a credible link, then obviously they can find a credible cure. Hopefully.

[Sigh] Well, I know there’s a lot of work goes on in the laboratory. My second granddaughter is doing forensic science and biology, and laboratory work. She’s doing her Masters at the moment.

And I’m hoping that somebody like her will suddenly – in a laboratory somewhere – will find a cure.

A cure.

And which is obviously the basic reason everybody’s doing all this work. So, that’s – you know. That’s what I hope for. I would hate to think in the future that they’re in the same position as me. Especially while they’re young. Because they’re in their twenties. I’d hate to think I’d left that legacy.

And you mentioned when the – Was it a nurse that approached you about the Hundred Thousand Genomes project, or?

Well obviously somebody that works in the hospital, in amongst the cancer haematology wards, yeah.

Yeah.

As I said, I was there seeing the consultant. And while we were waiting for the consultant, this gentleman came in and asked would I be prepared, you know. And I said, “Yeah. Well, why not?”

And what happened? Did he take you into another room to explain it? Or did they

My daughter – He gave me these leaflets, and my daughter and I sort of filled them in between us, sort of thing. Hopefully we were quite accurate. And I really haven’t heard a lot since.

So, I don’t know what they’ve done. I presume they’ve taken biopsies, they did ask permission if they could. And I said yeah, that’s fine.

What did they sort of ask to do? What did you understand by the project?

[Sigh] I don’t really know, to be honest. I can’t remember [laughing]. I had a lot of trauma at the time, being told I’d got cancer and all the rest of it. And my daughter was emotional about it.

I’m a bit more ‘oh well, you know, if it is, it is. And you cope, but. My daughter was quite emotional about it all, and panicking a bit. And as I said, I had to get used to the idea of having to have the mastectomy.