19 October 2023 , 09:07
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A mum-of-two who was given heartbreaking health news says her devastating diagnosis saved her brother's life.
Charlotte Brah was just 35 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer - she sadly has now been told she has as little as weeks or months left to live. After undergoing tests Charlotte discovered she was carrying a genetic mutation CDH1 which has been linked to a higher risk of breast and stomach cancer.
She was forced to pass on the shattering news to her younger brother Dev Paddem so he underwent tests which showed he also carried CDH1 and he had cancerous cells in his stomach. Charlotte, now 38, said: “We’ve both got our own children and families - it’s scary.
"The fact that we’re not both struggling through this brings me peace of mind. Knowing that up until now - touch wood - he’s in the all clear, is a massive comfort to me. I just have to worry about myself now really and fight my own fight.”
Charlotte Brah with brother Dev Paddem
Charlotte in hospital with her two daughters Katen and MiaDev was able to have his entire stomach removed before the cancer developed and despite some complications, the dad-of-two is now on the path to recovery. Asked how she feels about saving her brother’s life, Charlotte said: “You don’t really see it that way. You are just thinking, am I going to get through the next day."
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Tragically, Charlotte will not be as lucky as her brother. She had initially been told her condition was improving but after doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her brain, she has now been given weeks or months to live, Manchester Evening News reports.
Charlotte, who lives with husband Gary, 46, and their two daughters Katen, 15, and Mia, 13, in Coventry, said: “If it was not for my family being here with me day in and day out, I don’t think I would have pulled through. Your family is the best support network you could ever have.”
Test revealed Dev had cancerous cells in his stomach
Charlotte also had her stomach removed in December 2021Charlotte first found a lump on her breast in May 2020. She said: “I was literally just getting changed one night, took my bra off, gave (my breasts) a rub and thought: ‘Oh, that wasn’t there before, I better get that checked.' I thought we’ll give it the weekend and then if it’s still there, I’ll go see the doctor, thinking that it was probably just a cist or something. But I was on the phone to my mum and she said: ‘We’ll see the doctor now, you’re not waiting until after the weekend.”
Charlotte saw the doctor the next day. and went on to be diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in June 2020. She started six months of chemotherapy but after the treatment failed to have the desired effect Charlotte underwent surgery to have the cancerous tissue removed from her left breast all together - also known as a lumpectomy.
Dev has lost four stone since having his stomach removedIn April 2021, doctors were confident that Charlotte was on the road to recovery, but because of her young age suggested she should have further tests. This when they discovered she was carrying CDH1 which is linked to the production of a protein called epithelial cadherin or E-cadherin - which helps cells stick together to form tissue and organs.
Mutations of the CDH1 gene have been associated with a greater risk of stomach and breast cancer, according to the NHS. Charlotte said: “I just said to this histology lady (who studies tissue and organs), ‘I’ve heard about this gene, I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about it’ and straightaway she said it could be the reason I had breast cancer,” she said. “And then it just sort of spiralled from there.”
Fearing her brother could be in danger, given the mutation was passed down from their father, she suggested he should also get tested. Dev, from Cannock, Staffordshire, who worked as a plumbing and heating engineer, underwent 82 biopsies.
Doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham found cancerous cells in his stomach. “My sister saved my life, because if it was not for her having the test, I would never have done mine,” Dev said.
“Because I wasn’t poorly, I was a full-time working dad seven days a week, just living my day to day life as I always have. She said ‘you must do it’, so I did it, and found that I already had active cancer cells in my stomach. It was very early stages but it was already there.”
His whole stomach was removed, also known as a gastrectomy, which means Dev, who lives with his wife Nicci, 38, and their two children, Kade, 11, and Lilly, 10, can only eat small portions of food and ended up losing four stone. Dev said: “I lost a considerable amount of weight. I didn’t even look like the same person - I was just skin and bone really. I was 12.1st when I had the operation and went down to 8.10st.
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Charlotte said: “Considering we both had the same operation, we have both come out in different ways." The pair enjoyed a 'lovely Christmas ' and were still recovering when Charlotte went for a routine scan in February which showed cancer cells in her spine. “That was a massive blow with a lot to take in and adjust to,” she said. “It’s been a knock back every time. You get your hopes up and then there’s something else.”
Charlotte was given between five and 10 years to live, a prognosis which she said was not easy to come to terms with, but was 'acceptable'. Unfortunately her odds of survival were cut short when, two months ago, she fell ill and was taken to hospital.
“While I was in hospital I started having funny hearing problems and my vision started going a bit blurry,” she said. The cancer cells were now in Charlotte’s brain and a few days later she was told her average life expectancy was now weeks or months.
“It’s basically just going everywhere now,” she said. Charlotte has since moved into the Coventry Myton Hospice and was regularly going home to see her husband and children until a few weeks ago when she started feeling unwell and was rushed to hospital.
The pair have launched a GoFundMe campaign to say 'thank you' to the hospice which has raised more than £2,000. “A massive thank you to everybody who has put so much hard work into this,” she said. "Thank you for all the money which has been raised and all the support.”