Meet the admirable mother, 39, determined not to be defined by her incurable cancer diagnosis
Meet the admirable mother who is determined not to be defined by her incurable cancer diagnosis.
Campaigning cancer warrior Victoria Skinner, 39, was living life like a normal person in her twenties and felt invincible until she found a lump on her left breast in 2015.
“I didn’t think anything of it, left it and didn’t get it checked,” Victoria told the Chronicle & Echo. “When I eventually got it checked, my whole world completely changed and I was diagnosed with stage three aggressive breast cancer.”
Victoria underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment, which she admits was “brutal” and a “completely devastating” time in her life.
She had not been with her partner Joe for long at that point but despite this, he was Victoria’s “complete rock” until she got the all clear in early 2016.
“I was cancer free and went back to living my life,” said Victoria. “I was super grateful. We got engaged in 2017, married in 2018 and were lucky enough to have our beautiful baby girl Isla in 2019.
“I was told that cancer would make me infertile and I wouldn’t be able to have children, so she was a complete miracle and I’m so lucky to have her.”
It was in 2020 when Victoria had delayed reconstruction from her mastectomy and the procedure failed. She experienced excruciating pain that the medical professionals could not get to the bottom of.
Following a bone scan, Victoria was told that her cancer had returned in March 2021. This time it was in her bones, and it is now in her sternum, pelvis, hip, spine and shoulder.
“I’m riddled with cancer,” she said. “If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. This was harder than my first diagnosis as I had a two-year-old. My initial reaction was for her, and for Joe to have to go through it again.
“It was even more devastating and can’t be cured. I was diagnosed with stage four secondary breast cancer. It can be treated to improve my quality of life.”
Victoria was asked at what point she decided to start raising awareness, fundraising and documenting her journey online, and why she decided to take this step.
She said: “I wanted to turn something really difficult into a positive. I always say I don’t want to be defined by my illness, and that’s when I discovered exercise.
“Stage four cancer isn’t something you associate with exercise, but I found out how powerful movement and exercise can be for the body and mind. I wanted others to have the same feeling of strength and purpose.”
With no previous experience, Victoria trained and competed in her first Hyrox competition in November 2023 and raised £34,000.
Victoria continued: “I wanted to take on a challenge to shine a light on what’s possible and make a difference. This wasn’t long after joining the gym, when I’d never done any type of strength training or exercise like it. It was a complete challenge whilst undergoing treatment.
“Receiving a diagnosis is such a dark place that’s really hard to come back from. I wanted to help others live and not be defined by it.”
It was in the summer of 2023 when Victoria decided to start fundraising and she has now raised more than £50,000 to date, which allowed her to launch The Tor-Rox Foundation in April 2025.
The mum-on-a-mission hoped the foundation would help transform the lives of others battling and living with cancer, through fully-funded fitness and wellness related activities.
The Tor-Rox Foundation is Victoria’s legacy and her purpose is helping people discover how empowering exercise can be in making you stronger, fitter and healthier as part of a community.
“We don’t just give away money for gym memberships,” said Victoria. “It is small group community PT in a supportive environment to help them find strength.”
The foundation operates across the entirety of England and Wales, and Victoria hopes to help as much as she can on this wide scale.
“The last thing you want to think about is exercise during treatment, and nobody would suggest I do strength training with bone cancer,” said Victoria. “There’s a gap there.”
The icing on the cake for Victoria is that she has been named the Pride of Britain ITV Anglia Regional Fundraiser of the Year 2025, having been nominated by multiple people.
She said: “I was and still am completely shocked. It’s such an incredible honour and this isn’t just for me. It’s recognition for everyone involved in the journey and I’m lucky to represent them.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. Things like this don’t happen to me and my mind is conditioned to bad news.”
Victoria believes this is just the start for The Tor-Rox Foundation, with the aim of helping as many people as possible on a long-term basis.
The mother concluded by describing her health as a “rollercoaster” and said everyday is different when you live with stage four secondary breast cancer.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s up in the air,” said Victoria. “I’m a ticking time bomb and I don’t know when my treatment is going to stop working. I’m grateful my cancer is stable at the moment.”
When Victoria received her incurable diagnosis in 2021, she was given three years to live and has surpassed expectations – as well as welcoming her daughter Isla into the world six years ago.