Hi, I’m Trish Springsteen. I’m 58 years old and I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2014.
I went and had my breast screen and the early detection was brilliant, because what I had was 2 breast lumps. They were right back in the chest wall so I had no symptoms. It was a great shock, obviously. I didn’t expect it, it came out of left field. In fact, funnily enough looking back, the first words out of my mouth were, ‘I can’t win the lottery, and I get cancer!’.
The 2 people, the doctor and the nurse though, that were there to give me the news, they were so supportive. I’m so grateful that they explained everything clearly, they were there to give me all the support I could possibly have.
What I was really thankful about when I was able to step back and think about it was that the early detection that I have had has allowed me to be able to get through this with a minimal impact. It could have been a lot worse. What I have got through with is some surgery, minimal surgery. Something that could have been lot worse has been resolved a lot better because of that early detection.
When you get that letter, do not delay, just go and have the screening. If there’s nothing wrong, then I know I’ve spent a short period of time, I have peace of mind and I can go on for the next 2 years knowing that my body is where it should be.
Trish talks about the benefits of detecting breast cancer early through the BreastScreen Australia Program. She was able to have minor surgery to remove the lumps and encourages other women to have the screening test.