We've made a pledge to GO PINK!
Did you know that every day 57 people in Australia are diagnosed with breast cancer and 9 people lose their lives to this disease?
This June, we have made a pledge to WEAR IT, SHAVE IT or COLOUR IT and raise funds for world-class breast cancer research to help NBCF towards their vision of Zero Deaths from breast cancer.
Please support our GO PINK pledge to save lives and make a difference.
Together, we can stop deaths from breast cancer.
My Badges
Thanks a thousand – Raise $1,000 for DNA discoveries!
Let’s go – donate towards your own goal!
Pics or it didn’t happen – upload a profile pic!
On a roll – raised 50% of your goal!
Sharing’s caring – Share your fundraising page!
Fundraising Rockstar – raised 100% of your goal!
My Updates
Survivor Guilt
Sunday 2nd JunJune is finally here and that means I pledge to wear something pink everyday, whether it’s my pink nails, socks, hair clips or National Breast Cancer Foundation pin!
This update is a bit hard to write. It’s how I feel with survivor guilt. I’m sure many of you know I’m an RN. I come across people at all different stages of their very own cancer journey. I’ve met some amazing people and been there for them at their most vulnerable. I find it an honour that I can be there for them. But at the back of my mind I’m always thinking “what if”…
What if I didn’t question why that freckle on my breast had turned black.
What if I didn’t get into the GP that day to get it checked.
What if I didn’t score a rare cancellation for the mammogram/ultrasound that same day…
What if I didn’t know the staff & Doctor and was able to do the ultrasound guided biopsy THE NEXT DAY.
What if my surgeon didn’t act quickly when she saw the biopsy results and put me on the end of her list the next week for lumpectomy……
If you remember, my cancer was DCIS triple positive grade 3 & aggressive. It grew half a centimetre in 10 days. Imagine how big it would’ve been if one of those what ifs didn’t happen ??
??
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1 week to go !
Saturday 25th MayIt’s only 1 week to go until June when I’ll be going pink to raise money for breast cancer research ?
Following on after I finished radiation, I has 12 months of Herceptin injections every 3 weeks. During this time I started having tests done to check what damage the chemotherapy and radiation had done to my body. I had echocardiograms of my heart to make sure that the treatment hadn’t affected my heart. Thankfully it was all good.
I also has bone density scans to check my bones. This showed I had osteoporosis. 49 years old and I had been diagnosed with osteoporosis, usually an older persons condition. So now, every 6 months since 2021 I have zoledronic acid infusions at MNCCI.
Breast cancer is known as the gift that keeps on giving. I may have been one of the lucky ones to beat the disease, but it left a few surprises for me along the way.
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Radiation
Sunday 12th MayTime for a new update. I’ve been a bit quiet this past week as I was sick with Covid. Still struggling with the after effects but getting there.
Next on my journey was radiation. I saw the radiation oncologist at MNCCI who booked me in for the CT staging scan and 3 weeks of radiation.
Breast cancer being the gift that keeps on giving, I had to have 3 tattoo markers for radiation. I was 48 years old and given my first tattoos. 1 in the middle of my chest and 2 on the outer side of each breast.
Radiation therapy screwed with my mind. To be laying there on a cold metal bed, exposed from the waist up. It takes time for the techs to align you correctly with the tattoos to make sure they are zapping the right areas.
During the scans, I had to breathe a certain way to use my lungs to push my breast away from my heart, otherwise they would be zapping my heart.
Also during radiation, my first baby left home and moved 22 hours away. I was heartbroken.
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Genetic testing
Saturday 27th AprThank you so much for everyone’s support following my last update ! I certainly didn’t expect the amount of comments and messages I received!
Thanks also to Karen Fitzsimmons, Michelle Elisabeth and Fran Lovric for your amazing donations towards finding a cure for this disease. I am so excited that Fran was given the 5 year all clear yesterday in her fight with a different cancer.
Anyways, continuing on with my story -
In November 2020, I met with Professor Spigelman from St Vincent’s Cancer Genetics Clinic. He went through my family history and sent me off for blood tests (I felt like a pin cushion as I was getting poked and prodded weekly !)
In December 2020, I met with him for the results. I have attached the letter, but basically I was all clear for the BRCA plus a bunch of other genes.
Please help find a cure by sharing my updates and my fundraising page ??
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Chemotherapy time ?
Wednesday 24th AprTime for another update. I thought doing these updates were therapeutic, but it’s bringing back memories I never want to experience again.
Just so you know, Desiree I’m doing this for you ??
Anyways, onto the next part. Chemotherapy time.
Thursday 29th October 2020 I started chemotherapy. I was prescribed Paclitaxel, given IV weekly for 12 weeks.
I worked all the way through my cancer journey. It was hard, very hard, but it was something I had to do for my family. Looking back, it helped me to remain grounded and to push myself to get up and going everyday, when all I wanted to do was curl up and give up.
Anyways, I would work Monday to Thursday, then Friday I’d spend the day at MNCCI. Saturday and Sunday I’d get through in a blur and then start the week all over again.
My last chemotherapy session was Friday 15th January 2021. I was 17kg lighter thanks to chemo, and bald ?. I was one of the lucky ones though. I got to put my thumbprint on the wall ?
Sunday 21st Apr
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Meet Medical Oncologist.
Sunday 21st AprThank you so much Donna Knight and Kath Williams for your donations ?. Ive almost doubled what I initially aimed to raise !
Next in my journey was meet the Medical Oncologist!
On Tuesday 13 October 2020, I had my initial appointment with my amazing on oncologist. A lot of this appointment was a blur as my head was spinning, but I did come away with a plan of attack plus a wealth of knowledge I wish I didn’t have to know.
Basically, because of the aggressive cancer I had, the recommendation to beat it with the best chance of it not returning was 12 weeks of chemotherapy (Paclitaxel), 1 year of immunotherapy (Trastuzumab), radiotherapy then 5 years of hormone therapy (Tamoxifen). I have attached the information I was given.
She also discussed genetic testing as I have a family history of ovarian cancer. We agreed for a referral to see a genetics counsellor to discuss the tests.
I was booked in to start chemotherapy on Friday 30th October 2020 at MNCCI.
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Surgery day
Saturday 13th AprWow I’ve smashed my original target of $250 in a week! Thank you Sonia Gunter, Winsome Blandford, Jo Joyce (from Can at 40. Do at 45.) and Victoria Watkins for your donations ?
Here is the next chapter, surgery day.
Wednesday 16th September 2020, I was booked in for lumpectomy at the end of my surgeon list. She had a full list, but due to my cancer being aggressive, she put me onto the end of her list.
I turned up bright and early to the hospital as I had to have lymphoscintigraphy first in the imaging department. After all my years of working in medical imaging, and booking people in for this examination, I never knew to explain the intense pain this procedure causes ! Give me a mammogram any day over this ?.
After waiting what seemed to be hours, I finally got taken through to be prepped ready for surgery. That procedure was a breeze after the lymphoscintigraphy ?. I came home that night cancer free and a nice neat wound around the upper outer aspect of my breast.
I went back to the surgeon the following week for the results and it all seemed positive (at first). She removed the tumour with clear margins and there was no evidence of cancer in my lymph nodes !
SUMMARY
LEFT BREAST LUMP AND SENTINEL NODES:
- INVASIVE DUCTAL CARCINOMA (NST), GRADE 3, 16MM; CLEAR FROM THE MARGINS BY AT LEAST 2.5 MM.
- HIGH GRADE DCIS, 16 MM
- LCIS, ABUTTING THE INFERIOR MARGIN
- FOCAL LYMPHOVASCULAR INVASION PRESENT.
- NEGATIVE SENTINEL LYMPH NODES (0/2) •
- TUMOUR IS POSITIVE FOR ER AND PR AND HER2.
- KI67 SCORE 40%.
- STAGE IA
Now for the scary part, 16 days prior at biopsy day my tumour was 11mm, surgery day it was 16mm ?. It had grown half a centimetre in 16 days.
She gave me referrals to medical oncologist and radiation oncologist and gave me the news that because it was grade 3, high grade DCIS, I will be having the lot, chemotherapy and radiation therapy ?.
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Meet the surgeon day
Thursday 11th AprThank you so much Kym Maree for your donation ?.
Next comes meet the surgeon day.
Wednesday 9th September I meet my lovely surgeon to discuss treatment options. The final histopathology report wasn’t available at the appointment, but the preliminary report was in which I already knew. Triple positive Breast cancer, stage 1. The cancer was only 11mm at biopsy day, so the surgeon explained it was a good size for lumpectomy. She gave me forms to book into hospital, in about a months time, and advised she would discuss my case at the next multidisciplinary meeting at the hospital.
The next day I received a call from my surgeon, the supplemental histopathology report was in (attached) the cancer was -
INFILTRATING CARCINOMA NO SPECIAL TYPE (NST), GRADE 3
- LYMPHOVASCULAR INVASION PRESENT
- ER AND PR POSITIVE
- HER2 IHC POSITIVE
- KI67 INDEX 40-608
HER2 SISH (Ventana Inform Her2 Dual Probe)
Her2/CEP17 ratio: 11.88
Average Her2 copy number: 20.2
HER2
IHC : 3+
HER2 final result : Positive (classic amplified- group 1)
As this was an aggressive grade of breast cancer, it was decided I would be booked in for lumpectomy the following Wednesday 16 September 2020, 17 days after finding the lump ?
To state my head was spinning was an understatement. I had to explain all this to my 3 children without trying to scare them with how serious this was.
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Biopsy Day
Sunday 7th AprThank you so much Michelle Saul for your donation. I know this is very close to your heart as well ?.
Here is the next stage of my journey, biopsy day.
Tuesday 1st September I was back at my GP first thing in the morning to get the required referral for the biopsy booked later that afternoon. The radiologist had already sent the results of the mammogram and ultrasound I had the day before. There it was in black and white -
“BI-RADS 4C/5 examination, with ultrasound-guided left breast upper outer quadrant lesion core biopsy (incorporating marker clip placement) suggested in the next instance.”
4C = high suspicion (50-95%)
5 = Malignant finding(s) with >95% chance of malignancy”
Before I was nursing, I worked as a medical typist for this radiologist. I must’ve typed hundreds of these reports and never did I think that there would be one with my name on it.
Anyways, later that afternoon I went to get the biopsy done. I felt very scared about the whole process as I knew these results would determine my prognosis. The biopsy was painful but over in seconds.
On Wednesday 2nd September I received a phone call from my amazing surgeon. My GP had sent a referral and my radiologist had sent her the mammogram results. I was booked to see the surgeon the following Wednesday.
On Friday 4th September my GP phoned me to give me the results of the biopsy. I had triple positive breast cancer. She said the results would go for further testing to find out the grade.
I was so thankful that she didn’t make me wait for the results until the surgeon appointment the following week.
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The beginning
Saturday 6th AprThank you so much Megan Jones and Sue Snow for your donations to start me off ! I am forever grateful for your support ?.
Now I’ll start to document my journey.
On 30 August 2020, it was a Sunday, I was at work at St Agnes Hostel when I felt a weird feeling on my upper outer left breast. There was a black freckle which had seemed to grow fast and felt ‘funny’. I showed my husband who said yeah it looks weird, go get it checked.
On Monday 31 August off I trotted to the GP thinking I had skin cancer or something weird. GP did an examination and told me she could see the dimpling down my breast and it was possibly breast cancer. She gave me a referral for mammogram and ultrasound.
Before I was nursing, I worked in admin at the local imaging place in town, so I was very lucky to be able to get those scans done the same day. The radiologist knew me, he came in and told me that he was pretty certain I did have breast cancer and he made time the following afternoon to get the biopsy done ! My head was spinning with how fast this was happening.
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Stay strong Deb. You are an inspiration for other survivors. 💗
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