Sara Cutting was diagnosed with breast cancer last July. Since then, she's gone through rounds of chemotherapy and her long, blonde hair has fallen out.
But instead of letting her diagnosis get her down, Cutting has decided to beat breast cancer with a smile.
She has taken a photo of herself every day for a year with some form of hat on her head and raised a ton of money for charity in the process.
"When I was really ill with chemo it was brilliant because instead of feeling shit about that, I was thinking about what to put on my head," Cutting told BuzzFeed News.
Cutting has triple negative breast cancer - a strain of the disease that does not respond to hormonal therapy and affects just one in five breast cancer sufferers.
According to Macmillan Cancer Support, treatment for triple negative breast cancer can be particularly difficult, as women are usually given chemotherapy even when the cancer is low-grade or hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit.
Cutting started the project to raise awareness about the disease and tagged all of her photos #NowGoCheckYourBits to remind women to look for signs of breast cancer.
She also raised more than £15,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support and is planning to auction the hats, (which were largely donated by local businesses), for charity, too.
"Throughout this most surreal roller coaster of appointments, pain, fear, laughter, tears, guilt, anger, hysterics, bad-taste-jokes, sleepless nights and denial, my Macmillan Nurse (we love Lisa) and the Macmillan counsellors (both emotional and practical) have been there and will continue to be there during my treatment and recovery," she wrote on her JustGiving page .
Cutting has recently completed the 365-day challenge but has decided to keep posting updates on Instagram. She has said she is feeling stronger than she was at the start of the project, but is taking her recovery one step at a time.
"Some days I have more energy, and some more pain, but the amazing team at Macmillan and NHS have been there for me the whole time," she told BuzzFeed.
"You don’t get all the clear, but if still here five years from now then great. If I’m not, I’m not. It’s one day at a time."
See more of Cutting's beautiful pictures below, or visit JustGiving to donate.
Breast Cancer Signs And Treatment
What Are The Symptoms?(01 of10)
Open Image Modal"A new painless, firm breast lump with irregular margins is a potential symptom of breast cancer," says Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, a breast cancer researcher at the Mayo Clinic. "The cancer diagnosis is confirmed following a biopsy of the lump." She notes that usually, women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer are healthy and don't feel sick at all. (credit:LarsZahnerPhotography via Getty Images)
Other Symptoms(02 of10)
Open Image ModalAnother potential symptom/sign of breast cancer, Pruthi notes, is a new onset of persistent redness on the skin overtop the breast with an orange peel appearance. This would also need a biopsy to confirm a diagnosis of breast cancer. (credit:Image Source via Getty Images)
Metastatic Cancer Symptoms(03 of10)
Open Image Modal"If the cancer is very advanced (metastatic) then the symptoms may also include weight loss, bone pain, headaches, nausea and persistent cough," Pruthi says. (credit:pamela burley via Getty Images)
What Are The Risk Factors?(04 of10)
Open Image ModalSome commonly associated risk factors, Pruthi says, are menstruation before age 11, menstruation after age 54, a first pregnancy after age 35 and a family history of relatives diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer. (credit:AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Are There Any Lifestyle Risk Factors?(05 of10)
Open Image Modal"There is evidence in the literature that obesity after menopause, lack of regular exercise, consuming greater than more or more alcoholic beverages daily, and a high fat diet can all be associated with a higher breast cancer risk," Pruthi notes. But, she points out, "women need to know that any woman can get breast cancer even in the absence of any of these risk factors." (credit:Adrian Samson via Getty Images)
Can I Eat Anything To Prevent It?(06 of10)
Open Image ModalThere are no specific types of diets, Pruthi says, but rather women are encouraged to eat fruits, vegetables, fibre, and minimize their alcohol and fat intake, as well as get regular exercise. (credit:lola1960 via Getty Images)
How Do Doctors Determine Treatment?(07 of10)
Open Image Modal"The most current treatment of breast cancer has taken on a individualized approach and is dependent on the biology or aggressive features of the breast cancer," Pruthi explains. "Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and this means that are many sub-types and different degrees of aggressiveness. So staging, which typically takes into account common prognostic features such as tumour size and if lymph nodes are involved, are no longer the only factors doctors use to determine treatment options." (credit:Christopher Futcher via Getty Images)
So What Do They Look At?(08 of10)
Open Image Modal"Today the biology of the tumour is also characterized by molecular markers (also known as predictive markers) such as if the estrogen or progesterone receptor is positive or negative and if the HER 2 protein is positive or negative," she says. "This helps decide who will benefit from a specific chemotherapy regimen, hormonal medications known as antiestrogens or who may need both chemotherapy and hormonal treatment." (credit:BluePlanetEarth via Getty Images)
What About Preventative Mastectomies?(09 of10)
Open Image Modal"Preventive mastectomy is an option for women at very high risk for developing breast cancer because they are BRCA 1 or 2 gene positive or if someone has hereditary predisposition to getting breast cancer but chooses not to have the genetic testing done," Pruthi says. "It is prudent that women who are considering this surgery know their family history in detail. Based on the moderate or strong family history, your doctor would recommend you meet with a genetic counselor to go over the family pedigree and help decide who should test for the breast cancer gene, when to test and how to interpret the genetic test results before proceeding with this preventive surgery." (credit:Jesús Jaime Mota via Getty Images)
Are Other Preventative Treatments Available?(10 of10)
Open Image Modal"High risk women who have had precancerous breast biopsies or strong family history may also be eligible to take preventive medications such as tamoxifen, raloxifene or exemestane to reduce breast cancer risk," Pruthi adds. (credit:art-4-art via Getty Images)