London, Aug 31 (IANS) A great-great-grandmother in Britain is today the oldest person in the country to have undergone surgery for breast cancer, just ahead of celebrating her 100th birthday.
Dorothy Affleck was diagnosed with the disease last summer and soon underwent an operation to remove the tumour at Tameside Hospital.
Affleck, a retired hairdresser and former dancer from Hyde, Greater Manchester, has recovered well and was able to celebrate her centenary in March, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.
Because of her age, she had to have the two-hour operation last August under local anaesthetic instead of the more commonly used general anaesthetic.
Affleck was born to a French father. Her mother was a member of the Tiller Girls – one of the most popular dance troupes of the last century.
She retired from hairdressing at the age of 75. To mark her 100th birthday, she had a party with family, friends and neighbours.
Her surgeon, Pardeep Arora, was confident she would be strong enough to survive surgery so gave the procedure the green light.
Affleck said: ‘When I was told ‘you’ve got cancer’, I couldn’t believe it. I was horrified. But Mr Arora was absolutely marvellous.’
‘I think it is unique because I came through it at that age. I was 99-and-a-half and people didn’t think they should operate at that age.’
Arora, a highly experienced Indian-origin surgeon, said he was pleased with Affleck’s recovery and described her as ‘inspiring’.
