This year, around 17,000 Kiwis will be on hormone therapy. We are ready – but we need you with us.
Please give generously to get more women like Susan on myHT Guide. This vital programme supports those on hormone therapy to stay on for longer, so they can live well beyond breast cancer.
Susan's story
A lump bigger than a golf ball was the start of Susan’s tumultuous breast cancer journey. And yet, despite the mastectomy, exhaustion, hair loss, early menopause, neuropathy and even a near-death experience, nothing prepared Susan for what came after – when treatment ended and hormone therapy began.
“Symptoms manifested instantaneously. Doctors told me, if you can stand it, keep going, because it reduces your risk of recurrence. But with little to no information or support, there were many times I felt like giving it up".
“The biggest challenge throughout all of this is how removed I have felt from the medical system. You go from being a high value person of interest, seeing your doctors every week, to a follow up every six months if at all.”
“There’s no information about this treatment – which is actually the longest of all my breast cancer journey. It was very much, take these drugs and just see how you go.”
myHT guide - a groundbreaking new programme
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What is hormone therapy treatment?
It’s incredibly effective. But too many women stop taking it prematurely due to debilitating side-effects and a complete lack of support. Susan agrees:
"My feet were achingly sore all day every day. It felt like I was walking on bruises. I was also going through chemical menopause, I couldn’t sleep, and I had hot flushes by the hour – boiling hot then freezing cold.”
“It was sheer determination that kept me going because if the cancer returned, I don’t believe I could go through chemotherapy again. It would have meant the world to have some support and connection.”
Judith Shinegold
MAUREEN WILLIAMS
Cindy Yelling
Dora Coffman
Naomi Johnson
Lindsay Henderson
Joan Toh
Lois Reid
Johanna Spruyt
Sydney Budden
A breast cancer diagnosis presents many challenges, and they're not all medical.
After your diagnosis, you may benefit from the support services we offer, like free counselling, physio, or our 0800 BC NURSE helpline.
Breast cancer is most treatable when it’s found early.
From age 20, it’s important to know the look and feel of your breasts, and show any changes to your doctor. From age 40, we recommend you start regular mammograms.
