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After losing her sister, Tracey, to breast cancer, Nikki Ratcliffe was dealt another devastating blow when she too was diagnosed with the cruel disease – as was her other sister
Nikki Ratcliffe was jolted by an urgent call from her brother-in-law, unusual because he typically rang for casual catch-ups. Answering the phone, she was met with a heart-wrenching twist to her reality. “It all happened really quickly,” Nikki emotionally explained. “Tracey, my sister, had been fighting breast cancer for two years and often reassured us during hospital stays that she’d be fine – just needing stabilization before returning home.”
The most shattering moment came with a phone call. “Then I got that devastating call from my brother-in-law to say she had just hours left to live. She wanted to die at home, but they didn’t get her there in time. Even though I knew it was going to happen, I got angry and broke down. She was 49 with two young children.” Despite the vast distance between Tracey’s home in New Zealand and Nikki, now 52, their bond never waned, fortified by a mutual passion for fashion and shopping sprees in London – sometimes including their “tomboy” sister Michelle Blackburn, 55. The discovery of a small lump in Tracey’s breast in 2014, leading to a diagnosis of stage four breast cancer, only strengthened the sisters’ connection. “As soon as we found out it had spread, we dropped everything and went to New Zealand to be with her,” Michelle shared, reflecting on their unity in the face of tragedy.
More devastating news
“Tracey never spoke about her diagnosis so we didn’t really know the full extent of it. She was in denial almost. She wanted to protect her children as she didn’t want them to see their mum dying. It was really, really hard,” Nikki shared. The devastating news that Tracey’s condition was terminal came from her husband.
“Every time we flew back, we gave her a hug, thinking, ‘Is this the last time? ‘ She didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t want to acknowledge she was going to pass, so it didn’t feel our place to bring it up. It was weird, but looking back I understand why she did what she did. She died one week after Michelle had last visited her. It was like she’d been holding on.”
Tragically, just as the family began to piece their lives back together following the loss of their cherished sister, they were struck by the heartbreaking news that Michelle had been diagnosed with the same merciless illness only four years after Tracey’s death. In October 2020, following her first routine mammogram at 51, Michelle was diagnosed with grade three HER2+ breast cancer.
“My husband Hugh was allowed with me to get my biopsy results despite being in lockdown. When I went in, the breast cancer nurse was there and I knew it was going to be bad news. And when they actually said the words I thought, ‘I’m going to die. I’m going to die like Tracey died,'” Michelle confessed. “I was frozen with fear. When we got home, I didn’t know what to do. My husband drove me straight to my parents’ house so I could tell them. He called Nikki with the news as I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t believe it was happening to us again.”
Michelle leaned on her husband and their two teenage children for support, but after returning home from a chemotherapy session, she was surprised by a visit from Nikki. She had just been diagnosed with grade three invasive breast cancer. “I’d always had it in my head that it was going to come and get me, but I tried to put it out of my mind. I checked myself for lumps, and in December 2020, I felt like something wasn’t right,” said Nikki. “It sounds really odd, but I went walking a lot at the time and a robin used to follow me everywhere. I used to joke and say, ‘Oh, hi Tracey. Do you want to tell me something? ‘ It was spooky. In February I had a mammogram and I was told there had been some changes from my last scan. The doctor said they needed to do a biopsy. I was diagnosed on 15 March 2021,” she recounted. “I passed out when I heard the news. I headed to Michelle’s house with my leaflet and said, ‘I’ve joined the club.'”
Treatment and impact
As Michelle powered through her treatment, her sister, Nikki, a mum-of-two living just a stone’s throw away, went through a double mastectomy and reconstruction. Nikki was there to lend a hand despite her own ordeal. “I was OK I joked that I had the boobs of a 20-year-old. I even showed her my new boobs and she playfully said, ‘I’ll ask for the other design,'” chuckles Nikki.
Michelle also underwent a double mastectomy after her treatment and is now anticipating reconstruction. She shares, “She was amazing. I couldn’t do anything for her because of the chemo. I wasn’t driving and I was tired all the time, but I would have if I could. Nikki and I didn’t have a particularly close relationship before, she was the annoying little sister, but it’s brought us closer and we talk a lot more.”
Three years removed from Nikki’s cancer verdict, both sisters remain clear of the disease, despite having tested negative for the BRCA gene. The shadow of cancer lingers though. “There wasn’t a big celebration because you live with the fear that it’s going to come back, especially with what happened to Tracey,” Michelle explains. “Every little lump and bump, every time you feel sick, you worry that the cancer’s back.”
As Breast Cancer Awareness month is observed in October, two women are urging everyone to regularly check their breasts and to don pink attire on 18 October to support Breast Cancer Now. The charity’s “life-changing” research and assistance have been invaluable to them, and they want to highlight the availability of help.
Nikki, who has experienced the charity’s support first-hand, shared: “If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, never feel on your own because Breast Cancer Now is there to support you,” adding, “It’s so important to catch it early, it makes all the difference. If Tracey had caught it earlier, she’d likely still be here.”
Wear It Pink on 18 October to help fund Breast Cancer Now’s life-changing research and support. You can sign up at wearitpink.org/signup. For more information about Breast Cancer Now’s free services, visit breastcancernow.org
