Sam looks to improve Force support after breast cancer treatment

29 April 2020

An officer who has returned to work after treatment for breast cancer is now working with the Federation and the Force to try to improve the support that is offered to others who find themselves in similar circumstances in the future.

PC Sam Hughes, who is also a Federation workplace representative, began a phased return to duties put in place by the occupational health team in September 2018 and is keen to share what was good in terms of the Force’s response to her illness, but also what was not so good.

“So much of what the Force put in place for me has been very, very good,” says Sam, “But there were still some areas where things could have been done better. When I came back I reached out to Pauline McGuire, the HR manager, to see if I could help shape Force policies.

“My phased return, for example, was really well managed and I got excellent support through Red Arc, the counselling service available to all members of the Federation’s Group Insurance Scheme. The nurse I spoke to at Red Arc was absolutely superb, she was calming, understood what I was going through and was available at any time of the day to listen, understand and offer support.

“But, on the other side of the coin, I found myself scrambling around trying to get information in terms of the various organisations that could offer help and support. It would have been better if there was some kind of ‘tick list’, summing up everything for me. It’s hard to go through various websites and paperwork when you are unwell and focussing on your treatment and getting better.

“I am sure many other officers are the same but you have deductions taken from your pay each month for things you have signed up for but when it came to it I was not really sure what I had access to and what I didn’t.

“I would also like to see a mentor programme put in place so that people can speak to someone who may not have medical training but can be a source of support and encouragement.”

Sam has met with Cliff Tomkinson, the Federation’s equality lead, and the pair are hoping to work with HR and the Force wellbeing team to put in place some of the improvements she has suggested.

But Sam is also keen to talk about her experiences and wants to encourage colleagues not to shy away from speaking to someone who has a cancer diagnosis.

“I found it really upsetting that so many people just couldn’t bring themselves to talk to me when they heard I had cancer,” she says, “Some would say they couldn’t handle it but I had no choice. Some people won’t even say the word cancer, as if they are going to contract it just from saying it.”

Despite the odd disappointment at people’s lack of understanding, Sam says, on the whole, she had great support. Tom Payne, her sergeant at the time of her initial treatment, was very supportive, arranging for someone different to attend each of Sam’s chemotherapy sessions with her .

“It was amazing, as bizarre as it sounds, we would turn it into a bit of an ‘outing’, sometimes having cakes or other treats. It also served to give colleagues a sense of what I was going through and show them that you can come out of the other end,” says Sam.

Since returning to work, she has also had support from Inspector Nikki Everson.

Sam was a relatively late joiner to the police service. Having tried her hand as a swimming teacher, a retail floor manager, a mortgage adviser and a mortgage underwriter, she knew she wanted to do something different and, in her early 30s, with her children aged around 10 and five, decided it was now or never.

Despite having no family ties to the police service, she decided to apply to join the Force and after about two years made her way in.

She will have been with West Midlands Police for 17 years this October and currently works in PPU at West Bromwich within the review allocation team.

Due to having lymphedema as a result of having her lymph nodes removed as part of her treatment, Sam can no longer carry out full policing duties which she finds frustrating as it feels like another thing the cancer has taken away from her.

Her family history – her Nan and an aunt both had cancer – had made her more aware of the need to keep on top of everything in terms of health checks and self-awareness but in May 2017, just four months after having a mammogram, Sam had found a lump in her right breast.

The GP she saw was quite casual about it and asked Sam if she wanted it checked out. Luckily, she did. Within two weeks, after a biopsy, breast cancer had been diagnosed and she had a mastectomy with reconstruction surgery as she felt it was critical for her own mental health particularly since she had undergone a hysterectomy in her late 30s.

“It just felt like everything about me had changed and I just wanted to hold on to something that made me feel like a woman, like me, still,” Sam explains.

Within days, she was back in surgery after checks from samples taken in the first operation revealed her lymph nodes needed to be removed. She has since had a series of further operations.

Throughout she has been supported by her two children, who she said were massively affected by her illness, and she also found a surprising source of strength in her ex-husband, Shaun. The couple had been divorced for around four and a half years at the time of her diagnosis, but her ex stepped up to the plate and they are now back together.

“He has been my rock. It has been a blessing; something like this makes you realise what’s important and who’s there for you. There are people who avoid you like the plague and then there are those who surprise you with their kindness,” she explains.

“I had my long hair cut shorter during my treatment but then it started to really fall out so I shaved it off and my best friend, PC Jam Ismail, came with me to wig shops and we treated it like a dressing up session. It was hard losing my eyebrows and eyelashes and I just didn’t feel very much like a woman and then, of course, you are living this life of CT scans, bone scans, operations, the chemo, then 15 rounds of radiotherapy and you are drained but also wondering if you are going to survive.”

She was also touched by the efforts of her colleagues DC Katie Hughes and DC Marie Carmichael who set up a Just Giving page for Sam after she joked when diagnosed that she didn’t want flowers but a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. They got her the shoes!

Now firmly out the other side, Sam has had chance to re-evaluate her life and priorities and, in addition to trying to work with the Force to put a range of support in place for colleagues facing similar situations, she has bought a static caravan in North Wales close to where her parents live.

“It means we have somewhere to go to spend time near to my Mum and Dad and our children can use it too. I have had a chance to really consider what is important and being with your family is right up there,” she says.

• Sam is happy to speak to anyone who may be going through similar treatment. She can be contacted on Samantha.hughes@polfed.org