EPA in the pink

Vicky with her horse Louie during her time of treatment

In January 2019, I went to a horse show and had a nasty fall off my horse. I went to the doctor for a concussion check and mentioned a large lump I had found on one of my breasts, presuming I had some swelling from the fall. I had just turned 27, so I was unbelievably lucky to have a concerned doctor who sent me for scans the next week. At the clinic, they did extra scans and a mammogram, and booked me in to get a biopsy at the hospital.
 

On the 14 February 2019, St Valentine’s Day, I received a notification on my doctor’s app. It had been accidentally sent to me, and all I read was ‘confirmed diagnosis of cancer’. What followed was endless appointments with oncology, the heart team, surgeons, Fertility Associates, breast nurses, and many more. I had a fast surgery to get a port in my chest for chemotherapy (chemo), and my treatment was finalised.
 

I had been diagnosed with metaplastic triple negative breast cancer. When you think of breast cancer, you just think of breast cancer. But I quickly learned there are so many different types, and all respond differently to treatment and need different plans.
 

I started my first type of chemo on the 12 March 2019. I had four rounds of AC chemo every three weeks. It was brutal. I had to have injections for my cell counts and injections for my ovaries (the needle for this was unlike anything I had seen before; we called it the harpoon). My hair fell out, I was exhausted and sore, and I was on many different drugs to try to counteract the side effects. Thankfully, AC chemo blasted the tumour, and it shrank by almost 2.5cm.

Having chemotherapy

The next chemo drug was Paclitaxel (Taxol), which I had weekly for 12 weeks. I coped with this better, but it was still awful. This chemo made me lose my eyebrows and lashes, which for me was harder than losing my hair. After a few weeks, my liver stopped coping with Taxol, so I had some time off chemo and received a lower dosage for the rest of the treatment.

Another chemotherapy session is over

On the 26 September 2019, I had my breast and lymph node surgery. It took longer than expected, but thankfully it went well. My surgeon was just amazing. She has received grants from Breast Cancer Foundation NZ for her cancer surgery research. I still keep in touch with her; she is a wonderful woman.

After surgery

After I had recovered from surgery, I started 19 rounds of daily radiation, both general and targeted. These sessions were short, but the burns and fatigue were hard. My final day of cancer treatment was the 3 December 2019.

After the final session of radiation therapy

If my scans at the end of this year are clear, I will finally be in remission, which is very exciting.

Cancer was something I never expected to happen to me, especially at such a young age. I still have numbness at surgery sites, some quite ugly neck and chest scars, and different coloured skin from radiation burns. Sometimes it feels like it all happened a lifetime ago, but other times I can remember the chemical tastes, the anxiety, and the fatigue like it was yesterday.

During cancer treatment, you are in survival mode, but it’s what happens after that’s especially hard. You have no more appointments, help, and medicine to stop your tumour growing, and the fear of the cancer coming back is always lurking. The survivors’ guilt hits hard sometimes; I’ve had a few friends pass away from breast cancer over the years; all were of similar age to me, which was unbelievably heart breaking and hard to deal with.

It’s so important for everyone to check their boobs and chest and neck area monthly, and know what’s normal and what’s not for you. Breast Cancer Foundation NZ have some excellent resources on self-examination, which explain what you should be looking for. I was probably at my healthiest when I was diagnosed, with no other symptoms apart from this lump.

Don’t ignore any signs; it’s far safer to get checked. 😊

And please support the EPA’s In the pink day on Wednesday 23 October by wearing pink and baking for and purchasing from the bake sale, which will raise funds for Breast Cancer Foundation NZ. But you don’t have to wait until then. You can make a donation now via our fundraising page: https://fundraise.bcf.org.nz/fundraisers/EPAinthepink/epa-in-the-pink

Vicky Gould