Carla’s Cancer Experience UNPLUGGED
A t 38, my world was ripped apart. Triple negative breast cancer. Next minute, I’m having my breasts taken off, then I’m having IVF, then chemo. I didn’t really have time to comprehend what was going on, let alone ask questions or get support. Suddenly, I had no idea what the future held, but I knew I was no longer able to continue on the path I thought I was on. Ten years later, I’m still struggling with that. When I finished chemo in April 2013, I tried to go straight back to work but I didn’t have anywhere near the stamina I used to have. Thankfully, I had a good income protection insurance policy. Some days it was difficult to leave the house – to go out with no hair, no eyelashes, no eyebrows, and no boobs. I was conscious of people looking at me, knowing what I was going through. I wanted to talk about this and figure out how to deal with it. That’s why I set up my Facebook page, Cancer Unplugged – to share my experience and connect with others. Over the years, I’ve struggled to find my normal again. I had to wait two years to begin the reconstruction process. After six-and-a-half years and multiple surgeries, I have breasts that my surgeon and I are almost happy with, but I still struggle with body dysmorphia. When I was 41, after a scan showed something not quite right in the walls of my uterus and a genetic mutation on the BRCA gene, I had a preventative full hysterectomy. I had to decide what to do with the eggs I’d frozen. I couldn’t use them myself and because I’d had cancer, donating them wasn’t an option, so I had to terminate them. That still breaks my heart.
The road has been pretty bumpy. I don’t use the word ‘journey’ for my experience because I personally believe a journey is meant to have an ending, and generally a happy one. For me, it’s just been an ongoing nightmare with one thing after another. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD related to the cancer. Throughout it all, BCNA’s website has been really helpful and, eventually, I had some counselling through Cancer Council. Starting to cycle and exercise saved my life. It’s like my meditation and, over the years, I’ve done some big rides, including the Ballarat 100-mile Classic, which raises money for cancer research. I tend to hibernate in October because that’s the month I was diagnosed. Breast Cancer Awareness Month tends to be awash with pink, so one year I shared photos on my Cancer Unplugged Facebook page of my scars and drains hanging out because I wanted people to see the reality of breast cancer. My advice for someone newly diagnosed would be to find someone the same age as you who’s had breast cancer and talk to them. Ask them questions and find out what’s helped them. And don’t Google – lol! If you’re struggling with your mental health, find someone to talk to and don’t give up on getting help. Contact BCNA, use their online resources, or find a local breast cancer support group. Years ago, after my chemo, I bought myself a campervan because I’d always wanted to travel. It was my gift to myself. Finally, I’ve packed up the dogs and I’m on the road on my big adventure through Central Australia and down the west coast. Hopefully this is my chance to reset, stop feeling stuck, and make some future plans.
This year our Breast Cancer Awareness Month theme is ‘Living Well, Your Way’, which is designed to recognise that many people struggle to ‘live well’ following a diagnosis of breast cancer and that a quality lifestyle looks different for different people. Carla highlights the role exercise has played for her, and there is tangible evidence of how exercise can improve the quality of life and emotional wellbeing of cancer survivors. Throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we will share resources about how exercise and other types of support can help you to live well, your way BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH Living well your way
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Issue 96 | October 2023
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