A British teacher who has been battling breast cancer while living in Dubai on her own with no family support was left stunned when her best friend surprised her by taking a secret trip to visit her.
Sian Moss, 29, was diagnosed with aggressive triple negative breast cancer just one week before her birthday in May this year.
The teacher was working in the UAE, and Covid flight restrictions meant none of her family could be with her when she started chemotherapy, as Dubai was on the UK’s red list.
And after the cancer treatment began to make poor Sian’s hair fall out, she was left feeling like she “couldn’t be bothered with it anymore” – until her best friend swooped in to give her a much-needed pick-me-up.
Amanda Cope, 28, flew thousands of miles to Dubai on her own to surprise Sian as she walked out of her penultimate chemo appointment, and the shock of seeing her pal almost caused Sian to faint.
In a clip posted on TikTok, Sian is seen walking out of the hospital with a huge smile on her face, before freezing and spotting her long-distance pal.
The video, which has since racked up more than 87,000 views and 9,000 likes, shows the pair running into each other's arms and laughing, as the shocked Sian tries not to pass out.
Sian, from Ipswich, said: "Amanda's surprise came at the best time. I'd had a really tough week.
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"I'd been using the cold cap to try and save my hair, but in the last week, because of the amount of chemo, my hair had been falling out and I'd been having really bad bone pain.
"That morning I woke up and thought 'I just can't be bothered with this anymore'. I was in such a flat mood so when I came out and saw her, I almost fainted.
"I just couldn't believe she was there. There was so much emotion. I felt instantly better. It was amazing."
Sian found a lump in her right breast after a workout this year and decided to get herself checked out despite not feeling ill.
And the woman says it was probably the best decision she could have made, because she managed to catch her cancer early.
She added: "I only found the lump back in April. It was completely by accident.
"By this point, the UAE was on the UK's red list so I didn't really have an option to get home. I just decided to do all my treatment here.
“It's all gone well so far. I was very lucky because I managed to catch it at stage one and it hadn't gone into a lymph node.
"With the situation, I tell myself how lucky I am that I did get it checked and got it sorted so soon. It could have a completely different story within six months to a year."
Sian met Amanda three years ago when they were both working in Dubai, but Amanda was made redundant during the pandemic and moved back to the UK.
And when she heard about Sian’s cancer diagnosis, the woman – who now works in marketing – was keen to go back to Dubai to support her friend.
She said: "Sian had been going through cancer on her own so I thought if there was one thing I could do, it was surprise her.
"It worked out great and at one point, we thought she was going to pass out. I was like 'Oh no, we've wiped her out', but she was fine. She was absolutely buzzing.”
The pair’s TikTok video has received a wholly positive reception, and people have been sending their well wishes to Sian.
Amanda added: "Everyone's full of well wishes for Sian and a few people have messaged her wanting to talk to her.
"We've had loads of comments on both videos now. I think people just love a nice positive story."
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