A reminder from a breast cancer survivor: Check Your Boobs!
In 2014, I had killer boobs.
Literally.
One morning as I was getting dressed, I felt a small, pea sized lump at the top of my left breast. I’d never noticed it before and was momentarily stunned. I carefully checked the rest of my breast and found a second lump on the underside — a lump that was painful to touch.
My aunt and grandmother both developed breast cancer, so I went to the doctor that day, had a mammogram, and was diagnosed with not one, but two malignant tumours in my left breast.
The next 12 months were a maelstrom of medical intervention. After a slew of painful and invasive tests, I had a double mastectomy — a choice I made after reflecting upon my family history and the unquestionable need to be around while my then 3-year-old grew up. The surgeon removed both of my breasts and implanted temporary tissue expanders under my pectoral muscles. After a mastectomy there is often not enough breast tissue left to secure reconstructive implants on top of the muscle, where cosmetic implants are usually placed. Expanders are like a balloon, gradually inflated over weeks to stretch the pectoral muscle and skin so that permanent implants can be fitted underneath. Weekly, my surgeon stuck a distressingly large needle into each of my breasts, injecting 50–100mls of saline into the expanders until they had reached the size that we had agreed upon. It was a surreal experience; thinking about the size of that needle still makes me shudder.
After the mastectomy, I had 6 months of chemotherapy, which is every bit as awful as it is reputed to be. Side effects included baldness, numb fingers and instant menopause. The baldness was temporary and the numbness eventually dissipated, but in my case, the menopause was permanent (some women resume normal cycles after chemo). Two months after the chemo finished, I had another round of surgery to replace the expanders with my permanent implants.
I am really, really lucky.
One thing saved my life — and if cancer ever invades your life, it might save yours too.
Early detection.
It may sound obvious and simple, but catching breast cancer early has an enormous impact on treatment options, survival rates and your quality of life.
Early detection meant that when I found it, the cancer hadn’t spread outside of the breast tissue. This meant that I didn’t need to have my lymph nodes removed or have radiotherapy on top of the chemo.
Early detection meant that when I found them, my tumours were still small enough that my specialist was confident she had removed all of the cancer from my body during surgery.
I elected to have a double mastectomy, but for many women, early detection means that they can have a lumpectomy, where just the tumour is removed, not the whole breast.
Early detection is even more important in women under 50, whose tumours are often more aggressive and larger, which results in lower survival rates.[1]
You may well ask “Early detection sounds great! What do I have to do?”
So, I share with you this simple advice….
Check your boobs regularly, and know your normal.
Do it at various times throughout your cycle so you know what normal hormonal changes you go through each month. Check around your breasts and armpits, and up to your collarbone and get to know what your normal feels like.
It’s worth getting any changes checked by your doctor, but some of the main things to look out for include: swelling in or around your breast, collarbone or armpit, any new lumps, irritation, dimpling, redness, scaliness or thickening of the skin, retraction or unexpected discharge from the nipple or pain in the breast or nipple.[2]
Knowing your normal is an important way to quickly pick up on any changes.
Life is hectic, and despite all the apps and gadgets designed to help us be more efficient, we seem to be more time poor than ever.
Cancer doesn’t care how busy you are. Cancer doesn’t care how many kids you need to take to school, how many ballet lessons, football games, meetings or parties you need to go to. Cancer doesn’t take a break while you go on a holiday. It doesn’t care if you’ve just finished high school or if you’re about to retire and take that overseas trip you’ve always dreamt of. If you don’t remain vigilant, it will grow in silence and by the time you notice it, it may be too late.
It’s easy to make excuses.
“It’ll never happen to me…”
In Australia, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer.[3]
Even with my family history, I never really thought it would happen to me — certainly not at 42.
It did. And it happened to my friend Dianne at 40. And my friend Jane at 45. I sat through chemo with at least 3 women in their 30s.
“It’s just weird to feel my own boobs.”
I understand, but you’ll get used to it. If you really don’t want to do it yourself, your doctor can do it, or your partner. Someone needs to do it and you’re the best person — it’s your normal.
“I keep meaning to get that lump checked but I’m just so busy.”
Delaying a check-up is enormously risky. If your lump is one of the many harmless kinds, there is probably no harm done by waiting. But if your lump is cancerous, putting off a visit to your doctor may mean the difference between life and death. Are you really willing to take that risk?
Please don’t wait to seek help — beating cancer is hard enough without giving it a head start.
I have just passed the magical 5 years clear mark. If I hadn’t checked my boobs regularly and known my normal, I might not be here telling you about it.
So tonight, before you get into bed, do yourself a favour.
Check your Boobs.
[1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Cancer Australia. Breast cancer in Australia: an overview. Cancer Series №71. Cat. No. CAN 67. AIHW Canberra, 2012.
[2] Cancer Council Australia. Breast Cancer Fact Sheet. https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/early-detection/early-detection-factsheets/breast-cancer.html 2017
[3] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Cancer in Australia 2017. Cancer Series No 101. Cat. No. CAN 100. AIHW Canberra, 2017
A reminder from a breast cancer survivor: Check Your Boobs!
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