Story so far…. Just like many women I was working, raising a family and having fun in between a hectic lifestyle, until one morning getting out of the shower I noticed dimpling in my breast. I thought it unusual and immediately booked a mammogram this was September 2005 and within a few days I was diagnosed with Early Stage Breast Cancer.

So the journey began…..October 2005 as instructed by my oncologist and surgical team I would need surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and one year of Herceptin treatment with Herceptin beginning January 2006, of which my oncologist informed me I needed and “it was the only thing that would save my life”. The drug was not on the PBS and was based on your weight to drug ratio and I would need to pay for this at a cost of $1030.00 per week. This all seemed unbelievably surreal not only did I have Breast Cancer I had to find $60,000 dollars to be in with a fighting chance bringing the chances of reoccurrence from 1 in 3 to 1 in 10.

So with all this knowledge and a lot of sole searching it was decided to embark on this hard and difficult road which I found myself on with the love and support from my Husband, two beautiful daughters my Mum, Dad and Brothers

I got through it and returned to part- time work gradually working 1 day a week increasing to 3 days whilst regaining some strength and getting through the fatigue whilst watching my long hair beginning to grow back (the one thing I really didn’t like was losing my hair) – this then defined me as a cancer patient for the world to see and being a very private person I was very uncomfortable with this.

Life returned to a new type of normal for me and my family as I had changed from my Breast Cancer journey all the silly little things in life seemed so insignificant now I just wanted to enjoy every day to the max.

That was until October 2012 when feeling unwell and on one of my check-ups with my hospital I told my oncologist this she then ordered blood tests and rang me a few days later to say I would need to go for an ultrasound and CT scan.

I attended this appointment to be advised that I had secondary cancer and so another life challenge begins for me!!!!

Currently I am undergoing chemotherapy again and find comfort with Ladies who I have met that are facing the same challenges who understand the gravity of this diagnosis.

The hardest thing is telling your loved ones. I look in their eyes and see their anguish and pain and wish I didn’t have to put them through this again.