ONE IN SEVEN WOMEN IN THE UK WILL DEVELOP BREAST CANCER IN THEIR LIFETIME. IT IS THE MOST COMMON CANCER IN THE UK AND YET THERE’S A SCARY NUMBER OF MYTHS OUT THERE. TO SORT FACT FROM FICTION, 18 WOMEN TELL GEORGIA GREEN THE ADVICE THEY WISH THEY’D KNOWN BEFORE RECEIVING THEIR DIAGNOSIS
DIAGNOSIS
I WISH I’D KNOWN… How to talk to family and friends
I tried to handle my diagnosis alone until a nurse said, ‘By keeping this cancer quiet, you’re depriving yourself of support and help.’ She was right. It’s emotionally draining to tell individual friends and family members the same distressing news over and over, so a good idea is to invite friends over (separately your family) and tell them as a group. Family and friends are significantly impacted, so telling them together means they can support each other and mobilise themselves as a group to help out. B is for Breast Cancer (Piatkus) by Christine Hamill is out now
I WISH I’D KNOWN… Cancer isn’t always a lump
I had a sunken nipple for more than six months before I found a lump, but I put it down to being perimenopausal. Any changes to your breasts could be significant, but especially a change in the size, shape or feel of your breast, puckering or dimpling of the skin, a rash or redness, fluid leaking from the nipple when not pregnant or breastfeeding, and changes in the position of the nipple.
I WISH I’D KNOWN… Breast cancer is nothing to be ashamed of
When I heard the words, ‘You have cancer,’ I had a million thoughts spinning through my head, including emotions and fears ingrained from my upbringing. In some communities, including Asian communities, cancer is considered a curse: if you get it, you must have done something wrong. A lot of women are ashamed, but it’s not your fault if you get cancer. The Asian community and other underrepresented diverse communities need to know there’s no need to shy away from talking about a breast cancer diagnosis openly. Balwinder is supporting Breast Cancer Now’s Wear It Pink day on Friday 20th October. Sign up at wearitpink.org/signup
I WISH I’D KNOWN… It’s okay to seek a second opinion
When I was told my breast cancer had spread and was incurable, my oncologist put me on a treatment plan but was quite negative. He told me I might only have three years left and there wasn’t much more they could do. That wasn’t good enough for me; I had a 15-year-old daughter and needed to do everything I could to be there for her. The amazing secondary breast cancer community online encouraged me to be my own advocate, so I reached out to my current oncologist, who told me that prognosis was out of date and there were new trea
