I was 18 weeks pregnant when I came home (Australia) for a Christmas holiday to see family and friends with my husband Iain. We had been living in Spain the last two years with Iain’s work. I found a lump just before Christmas and decided to check myself into a polyclinic New Year’s Day before flying back to Spain. Fast forward to 7 days later (after multiple biopsy’s & tests) and I was sitting in Dr Cindy Mak’s office at LifeHouse, hearing the news that I had HER2+ breast cancer. From there Mak assembled an amazing team including my oncologist Dr Jane Beith and obstetrician Dr Neil Campbell, the coordinated approach led to the successful delivery of our baby girl, Gigi whilst treating my cancer successfully.
Life changed a lot, my husband had to fly back to Spain and pack up our life there whilst I started my first treatment. Although it was a particularly difficult journey to navigate through it, upon reflection I am proud with what we achieved and had we mentally tackled the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Don’t be afraid to accept help from friends or family. Whether it’s a frozen meal or a hug I found saying “yes” and accepting that help meant that we could focus on the “admin” of breast cancer treatment