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From fearing the worst to receiving the very best care, an Essex woman has captured her breast cancer journey in a poem dedicated to the surgeon who treated her.

Michelle Keeling, 54, from Stebbing near Chelmsford, hopes sharing her experience during Breast Cancer Awareness Month will help others facing a diagnosis.

Her first routine mammogram in March 2025 came back clear, but weeks later she found a painful lump. After seeing her GP, she was referred to Broomfield Hospital, where Breast Consultant Sascha Dua confirmed she had cancer.

Michelle said:

“I had so much fear sweep over me. Sascha held my face in her hands and told me she would take care of me. Although I was scared, she gave me confidence to believe I could get through this.

“It grew so quickly, I could really see it and it scared me. My treatment plan was talked through, and I asked if I would survive. Sascha said, ‘Yes!’ At that moment I had complete faith in her.”

Biopsies confirmed triple-negative breast cancer. Michelle had surgery to remove the cancer while preserving her breast, followed by seven months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which she completed in September.

During her recovery, Michelle wrote a poem for Sascha, who featured in the Channel 5 documentary The Surgeon, to thank her for helping her through her cancer treatment. It also helped her process what she was going through and aided her recovery.

The poem was presented to Sascha, who was stunned by such a thoughtful item. She said:

“This poem was the most incredible gift and it touched my heart. I don’t often cry with a patient, but we were both in floods of tears.”

It was later read by Michelle on Sascha’s Instagram.

The Surgeon by Michelle Keeling

She braces and smiles as she enters the room

But there is no hiding away from the impending doom

The news is delivered and my fate is sealed

But the surgeon is already making sure I’m healed

 

She holds my face in her hands and looks into my soul

With the words ‘I will sort this’ her driving goal

I immediately trust this woman I have never met

For she is the surgeon that no one forgets

 

She is there for the journey I did not choose

And goes through the plan that I am to use

I listen intently trying to take it all in

As surgeon assures me it will be the right thing

 

She walks in with her coffee so relaxed and calm

Reassuring me there is no cause for alarm

I look half frozen as the lines are drawn

But the surgeon smiles and says ‘don’t be forlorn’

 

She squeals and explains by the end of the day

I will be changed for the better in every way

I want to believe her but there are doubts in my mind

Even though the surgeon is extremely kind

 

Some weeks later she calls me back to the room

Where I have flashbacks of that diagnosis gloom

I take a deep breath and hope for the best

As the surgeon reveals she has done the rest

 

She is delighted to tell me that her part is done

But I still feel like we have just begun

I will be forever grateful for her passion and skill

As the surgeon plans the next cancer to kill

 

Michelle wanted to share her story to help give people the confidence to come forward if something doesn’t feel right.

She said:

“Even if you have had a mammogram and it said it was okay, if you still have symptoms, don’t ignore it. Go back to your GP and get another check-up. Your life may depend on it. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll get a consultant surgeon like Sascha to look after you while you go through your treatment.”

ENDS