Watch: From Surviving Breast Cancer To Battling Bone Cancer And Losing Her Whole Family – Meet The Maltese Woman Who Has Been Through It All
Fleur Cilia Buckett’s story is hard to summarise. The Maltese activist, breast cancer survivor and bone cancer fighter has been through more in her 53 years of life than most people would be able to imagine.
After witnessing the gruesome murder of her neighbour and good friend Josette Scicluna in 2004, Fleur’s health spiraled out of control.
Speaking to Lovin Malta’s @anatortell, she shared her story – one of incredible resilience. She recounted the events of that fateful night, the loss of her mother and sister to breast cancer, watching as the same illness consumed her father before he succumbed to pneumonia, battling the disease herself, overcoming it, and then facing a diagnosis of bone cancer.
Through it all, Fleur’s unwavering spirit and upbeat nature make her one of the most inspiring people I’ve had the privilege of meeting.
This is her story.
Almost immediately after witnessing the brutal murder, Fleur started experiencing strange symptoms in her throat. Her voice was changing, her neck was swelling, she couldn’t swallow and her breathing was constricted. The discomfort she felt then still impacts her 20 years later.
Her doctors confirmed that she had an overactive thyroid and that it was possible that the impact of the shock attacked her vocal cords. They decided to remove her thyroid two years later in what she described to be the “worst” operation she’s ever had. The recovery was even worse.
She had two pipes attached to bottles hanging out of her neck and fainted when the stitches were ripped from her skin.
But still, she survived and was left with a scar on her neck which she proudly describes as a medal.
On Christmas Eve of 2008, Fleur was diagnosed with breast cancer – a disease that already claimed the life of her mother in 1988 when Fleur was just a teen. But she survived that too. She started radiotherapy at the start of the New Year and battled the cancer until she was in remission.
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The in-betweens were very hard, she had to stop working and had to go on social benefits. While she was fighting the cancer, her only sister, Michelle, was diagnosed with the same disease and Fleur took care of her until the end.
“My sister was riddled with cancer from top to bottom. What she passed through was absolutely insane,” Fleur explained.
Michelle died at just 39 years old.
Almost unbelievably, her father was also diagnosed with breast cancer around ten years ago when he was 87 years old. He was the fifth man in Malta to be diagnosed with this grade four breast cancer. Fleur took care of her father until he passed away from pneumonia and in the last few days of his life, the cancer “completely took over his body”.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with bone cancer and has been battling it ever since.
It has not been easy. But, despite these immense hardships, Fleur doesn’t let trauma get in her way. She’s an activist, works a full-time job and is one of the oldest lady bikers on the island. Fleur refuses to live in the traumatic moments of her past and chooses to embrace the uncanny cards she’s been dealt.
Her coping mechanism is to keep moving forward and while she still has her bad days, this has helped her achieve incredible things.
She’s a vocal animal activist and founder of WEAC, through which she organised a protest attended by thousands when Star the dog was killed in 2011.
Four years later, Fleur founded a charity organisation called Pink Ribbon Angels and she uses it to fundraise for breast cancer awareness organisations on the island. Every October, she organises a huge bike ride where bikers get together, pay a €5 entry (and more if they please) and wear pink wings while riding through the streets of Malta.
Fleur has raised over €500,050 for Europa Donna Malta and Action For Breast Cancer Awareness Malta.
Unfortunately, this year she won’t be able to organise the bike ride because her health has been “shocking”. However, Fleur will still be fundraising and if you’re interested in donating, check out her Pink Ribbon Angel Facebook page or email her at [email protected].
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