A Breast Cancer Journey

October is Breast Cancer Month. Time to wear your pink proud and honour those who are
currently battling breast cancer, those whom have survived and are deemed cancer-free, and
those whom lost the breast cancer battle.

As a healthcare professional and working in the industry for over a decade, I knew and
understood the importance and reasons family physicians recommend that women 50 to 74
have a mammogram at least once every two years.

It was not until a couple of years ago that I sat in a room with my mother having, what we
thought, a routine mammogram and expecting to be told – “Mrs. X, all good to go”, that I truly
appreciated and was grateful to the recommended screening guidelines that Imagine Health
Centre physicians follow. Instead of my mother and I were told we were good to go, we
were informed that they spotted a lump in her breast and wanted to do some additional
routine tests. We were asked if they could run these tests the same day and when we
agreed we were immediately brought into another room to have an ultrasound done, another
mammogram, another ultrasound and then a biopsy of the lump so they can determine if it
was cancerous or not.

Then the waiting game began while we waited for the test results to come back. To our
dismay, we were informed that mom had cancer! In that instant, our lives changed forever.
Due to the type of breast cancer mom was diagnosed with, we went through the journey of
multiple appointments; a radical mastectomy, chemo and radiation treatments, and a plethora
of tests, etc. At the end of almost 18 months, mom was told she was now cancer-free and
was considered a cancer survivor!

All through this journey, mom kept saying that it was like being in a bad dream. She said that
she kept going through the motions from one test or appointment to another thinking that this
is not really happening to her and that she would wake up and that she was actually fine.
She said it was so surreal to be in perfect health and then be diagnosed with cancer.

For my family and I, the journey we took with mom gave us new light and enhanced
trepidations that our chances of Breast cancer increased not only with my siblings and myself
but with our daughters/nieces as well. According to the Alberta Screening and Prevention
The program, breast screening recommendations changes if someone has one or two first
degree relatives with invasive breast cancer. If this is the case, then they recommend that
individuals starting 5 to 10 years younger than the youngest case in the family, but no earlier
than age 25 and no later than age 40, should have annual mammograms done to help detect
the chance of breast cancer sooner instead of waiting every two years.
http://www.topalbertadoctors.org/download/244/breast_cancer_summary.pdf?_20190915190
654.

I’m so grateful to my mom’s family physician, who practices at one of the four Imagine Health
Centres locations, for following the recommended guidelines and insisting that mom had
routine mammograms, even though she protested that they are unnecessary on a regular
basis. Had her doctor not been insistent and me helping to encourage her because of I
recognized the value of these tests, I may not have a mother today.

Do you have loved ones that think some of the tests their family physician orders are frivolous
and unnecessary, think again! Some of these tests are integral in ensuring symptoms are
caught early so healthcare professionals can help either prevent or mitigate the diagnosis
from getting worse.

Some things you can do to help mitigate your risk of breast cancer are:

• Stop or don’t start smoking
• Limit your alcohol intake
• Watch your weight
• Ensure your physical activity is aimed at a minimum of 150 heart points
  • 1 heart point = 1 minute of moderately intense activity (e.g. brisk walk). For
    more information on heart points visit –
    https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/08/21/google-just-launched-heart-points-
    here-are-5-things-you-need-to-know
• Do self-breast exams
• If you notice new lumps or skin changes, consult your family physician immediately
• Maintain pro-active screening as recommended by your family physician as these are not only based on recommended health standards, but also based on your personal and family health history. The standard for Mammogram testing is: have a mammogram every 2 years.
• If you are 40 to 49 years old, talk to your doctor about your risk for breast cancer, along with the benefits and limitations of having a mammogram.
• If you are 50 to 74 years old,
• If you are 75 or older, talk to your doctor about whether having a mammogram is right for you.
• To learn more about this visit – http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/breast/screening/?region=on#ixzz5zcb8En3J

Cancer statistics note that Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian
women (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). It is the 2nd leading cause of death from
cancer in Canadian women. Breast cancer can also occur in men, but it is not common –

http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-
type/breast/statistics/?region=on#ixzz5zcahk95c