Brave woman is fighting cancer in the same places in her body as her ‘soulmate’ dog
A DOG lover is fighting cancer in the same parts of her body as her pet.
Sheila Walker, 60, and Yorkshire terrier Banna both need constant medical care for the cancer in their chests and spines.
Sheila, who lives on her own at her home in Leeds, was diagnosed in 2015 – a year before Banna.
Banna has made a recovery, but requires more tests. Sheila’s cancer is incurable and she is involved in a number of drug trials organised by the National Institute for Health Research.
Sheila, of Leeds, said: “It’s weird that we’re on exactly the same journey together. We have good and bad days, but we’re there for each other.”
‘SHE’S MY WORLD’
“We’re best friends. She’s my world. We’re going to do this together.
“It feels like she is carrying some of my disease for me to take some of the pain and the pressure away from me.”
Sheila contacted medics in 2015 after a dramatic weight loss and serious pain in her spine which left her in agony.
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She added: “I was a total wreck. I was in hospital for days because I was in such a terrible state. I looked and felt like a 90-year-old woman.”
Banna, who is eight-years-old, was also diagnosed with cancer in the right side of her body in the spine and also legs in early 2018.
The Yorkshire terrier originally had two operations to remove the cancer but doctors discovered more tumours in October 2018.
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