A STRONGWOMAN has told how she plans to return to the podium months after battling an aggressive form of cancer that nearly killed her.
Mum Leigh Holland-Keen, 34, suffered a cardiac arrest hours after undergoing surgery to remove a 1 kg tumour that had been restricting her main heart artery.
Medics battled for an hour to save her life when she stopped breathing — pumping her full of adrenaline as they performed CPR.
The shock complication followed a crucial op to cut out the massive liposarcoma, which was discovered after scans showed multiple masses were obstructing her bowel.
Registered nurse Leigh, originally from Dundee, had delayed having extensive investigations into her condition as she grieved over the death of her mum, Susan Holland-Keen, 48, in December 2020.
She was then determined to return to Scotland from her adopted home in Sydney, Australia, to scatter her late mother’s ashes before she went under the knife.
But Leigh — the first woman in history to be awarded a full lift of the 330kg Dinnie Stones in Potarch, Aberdeenshire — admits that she couldn’t have waited much longer for treatment, or the disease might have taken her life.
Recalling her harrowing ideal, the strongwoman — who has a three-year-old daughter — said: “When I was pregnant I had a lot of discomfort in my tummy.
“But I put it down to being a first-time pregnancy as I didn’t know what to expect.
"After I had my daughter I had quite significant pain and put that down to recovering from the Caesarean section.
"It got to the point it was quite severe, so I went to the doctors and explained what was going on and they sent me for an ultrasound.
“That showed I had multiple masses throughout my bowel.
“They were very concerned and sent me for an urgent CT scan, and that showed an obstruction in my bowel due to these masses.”
After delaying further medical checks when her mum died, Leigh returned for more tests.
She said: “On further investigation and going to specialists, they found a 1kg liposarcoma, which is a pretty aggressive form of cancer.
“I’d had episodes where I’d black out and fall while I was standing up. I broke my cheekbone and nose three times which resulted in emergency visits to the hospital.
“The final time I collapsed, I woke up in the bathroom on my own and it was like a murder scene with blood everywhere. I was admitted to hospital when they contacted a specialist and made it more urgent.
"He said we had to operate as the mass was restricting the main artery of my heart, and he said if we don’t get it out it’ll be a terrible outcome.
“I’d bought tickets to come home to Scotland to scatter mum’s ashes so he allowed me to do that, which I felt mentally I had to do.
“A week later, I was in hospital and they had to remove part of my bowel, remove and dissect this mass attached to my abdominal wall, remove a kidney, and they told me they’d remove my spleen and ovary.
"But they managed to keep that, which was good because obviously i
But in a horrifying post-op twist two months ago, Leigh’s heart stopped.
She said: “Everybody expected me to bounce back quickly as I’m very fit and healthy and have no past medical history. But I had a cardiac arrest and was in a non-shockable rhythm.
"So they had to pump me full of adrenaline and do CPR and stuff. It was a very close call.
“Being a nurse myself, when I eventually came around and understood something had happened, I realised how lucky I was.”
Leigh, who works as a strength coach and runs a firm offering holistic help to pre and post natal women, then developed pancreatitis and found out she’d likely had a cardiac abnormality since birth.
She was discharged three-and-a- half weeks later and was reunited with her little girl.
Having received no physiotherapy plans from the hospital, she devised her own routine to aid recovery.
But with so much scar tissue, it wasn’t easy for her to exercise the way she’d like to.
Leigh, who also split from her daughter’s dad during the ordeal, credits her strongwoman training, and previous job as a nursing officer with the Australian Defence Forces, as the drive behind her determination to beat the odds.
Incredibly, she returned to lifting weights three weeks ago and plans to get back to the form that made her one of the world’s strongest women.
She says: “I’m trying to get on top of the extensive scar tissue and make myself as fit and healthy as possible. I don’t know if I need chemotherapy yet, I’m waiting for the results.
“Throughout the whole process I’ve had the mentality of focusing on what you can control, as worrying about the stuff you can’t doesn’t help or change anything. You have to crack on.
“I know deep down that I’ll be back competing. I’m very independent so I did struggle at times.
“I had a couple of pretty down weeks, but nobody was going to come save me and I have a daughter who needs me, so I need to get on top of this and do it myself.
“It’s been a slow process but we’re getting much better.
“I genuinely think throughout all the hard challenges the one thing that’s provided stability is training and being in the gym. It gives me routine and discipline and was my biggest form of therapy during all the hardships.”
Leigh doesn’t believe the Dinnie Stones will be her last big career highlight — as she has other records in her sights.
She said: “I’m very goal-driven and know if I set goals in my life, whether career, financial or sport, I can achieve them.
“I’ll get to the point where I’ll be back competing. It will just be slower than expected but things are going in the right direction.
“If I do need chemo, I know it’s another challenge I need to face, another challenge to overcome and we just go with the flow.
“I’ll stick with my nursing and my strength coaching because I love helping to promote females to become stronger, especially mums.
“And I’ll get back on the platform and start competing because I love it. I live for that stuff.”
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