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A mum who thought her back pain was due a pulled muscle discovered it was actually a sign of breast cancer after scans revealed a fracture on her spine caused by tumours. Rachel McCormack, 38, initially battled stage two breast cancer in 2015 but was given the all-clear after chemotherapy and surgery and was monitored with annual mammograms.
The mum-of-one began to experience lower back pain in December 2024, but initially put it down to gradual muscle strain. She attended an appointment with a GP and was referred for physiotherapy.
After the pain continued to "get worse" Rachel raised concerns to her breast team at Scarborough Hospital with an MRI scan confirming her vertebrae was fractured due to tumours on her spine. After being diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer in July 2025, she is currently undergoing 12 weeks of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and body-targeted therapy to shrink the tumour.
With her prognosis "up in the air", Rachel has been told it is not curable - so friends and family have rallied round to raise funds and buy a campervan so Rachel, partner, James, 39 and daughter, Iris, five, can have "a little bit of freedom" in between treatment.
Rachel, a midwife from Scarborough, said: "In clinical midwifery you are twisting and bending into all sorts of positions. A bad back is not unusual for someone doing my job.
"I went to physiotherapy and it just didn't get any better, it just got worse. I got in touch with my breast team and asked for a bone scan.
"So ultimately the MRI showed one of my vertebrae was severely fractured due to the cancer. The stats out there show the median amounts of time people live well for but it's very dependent on how it responds to treatment.
"I'm in practical mode in terms of working out what treatments I need, day-to-day life and the practicalities of childcare. I've got a five-year-old who goes to school and needs to be supported to have this normal life.
"With the campervan we can pick up and go on a weekend if the weather's nice or I'm feeling good. While still maintaining a normal life that you can't just throw up in the air and walk away from in a situation like this, even though feel like you might need to."
Rachel's annual mammograms since her first diagnosis have always come back clear, but she has struggled with "anxiety" that her cancer would return.
She said: "In the early days, that was a scary time where I was not seeing anyone regularly and I knew there was a possibility it would come back and managing anxiety thinking with every ache and pain 'is that something?'"
As for the fracture on her spine, Rachel will be monitored throughout chemotherapy with a possibility of surgery later down the line. Having fundraised frequently over her years in remission for Cancer Research and Macmillan, she has always wanted to raise awareness "especially around young people and breast cancer".
Rachel said: "It's about raising that awareness that it does happen to women in their 20s and if you do suspect anything always get it checked out and push if you're not happy with it. Yes unfortunately I do have secondary stage four cancer that's not going to be cured, but I had a really good response to my primary diagnosis and I got 10 years clear - that's because I was diagnosed early enough to be diagnosed and treated effectively."
A fundraiser set up by a work colleague to help the family buy a campervan has smashed its target of £15,000 already. "I feel fraudulent all these people raising money just for me," Rachel said.
"The idea of campervan is it will give us a little bit of freedom and escape from treatment while also being able to maintain normality in life. We talked the about idea of doing one of those big once-in-a-lifetime trips, but it's hard with an uncertain prognosis to know what to do.
"For something that works for us, we have a car to sell to put towards the fund. My chemo is done at the end of November and we'll be in a position to do something around Christmas to make it a special memory."
To donate to Rachel's campervan fundraiser, visit JustGiving.