Alison Paul is a reporter for NBN Channel 9 news based in Coffs Harbour. She is sharing her story in the hope to encourage women over the age of 40 to book in for their free mammogram screening.
In June this year I turned the big 5-0.
I already lived a mostly healthy lifestyle, but I decided to step it up a level: I started doing pilates three to four times a week, quit alcohol and focused on eating clean.
Ten weeks later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Three weeks after that I had surgery on my right breast to remove a 3cm lump.
Six weeks after the operation, I started radiation. I am currently on day seven of daily radiation, with eight doses to go.
Despite all this, I count myself as very lucky,
Almost 48 per cent of women aged between 50 and 74 in NSW are overdue for their twice-yearly mammogram.
I was one of those women, but then I got screened, and I’m so glad I did because my cancer was detected early.
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The operation removed the lump and confirmed the cancer hadn’t spread to my lymph nodes. I did, however, pay $5000 for a sample of my tissue to be sent to America to be tested to determine whether chemo was necessary or not.
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This is where my life intersected with Samuel Johnson, the co-founder of Love Your Sister.
“What are we doing? It’s $5k to get your sample to America, I’m sick of hearing that!” he told me.
The award-winning actor argues that this test, called Precision Medicine, or genomic testing, should be offered as standard of care to every Australian patient.
“Precision medicine is basically where we test the cancer not the patient, and by doing that genomic screening, as soon as the cancer patient is diagnosed, we can increase their outcomes by stupendous amounts,” Johnson explains.
While the technology exists, Australia hasn’t quite caught up, so now Johnson says he’s “rallying the troops” ahead of next year’s federal election with the hope to get Precision Medicine rolled out here.
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As it turns out, the $5000 was probably the best money I’ve ever spent because the results revealed undergoing chemotherapy would only give me an extra 1.5 per cent chance of preventing the cancer from returning.
I’m lucky I was in a position where I could raise that amount of money. Sadly, many people can’t and have no choice but to undergo chemotherapy.
After my radiation finishes, I’ll undergo hormone therapy. While all of this isn’t exactly a walk in the park, it’s a much better treatment plan than chemo!
While we wait for a vaccine for cancer, or even a cure, we need to do what we can to minimise the impact of cancer. And the number one thing to do is to get screened. Don’t put it off – whether it’s a mammogram, a bowel test, skin or prostrate, just get that test done!
As my surgeon, Dr Salindera, said: “Cancer is common and especially breast cancer and that’s why early detection is the best thing that you can do.”
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