Time to read : 5 Minutes
Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women and it is predicted that this year alone 20,428 women and 212 men will be diagnosed with it.
That's about 57 of us a day.
🎗️It's properly scary and it hurts everything – your body, your mortgage and your career.
What are the signs of breast cancer?
According to Breast Cancer Network Australia, it's estimated that breast cancer will make up 28% of all cancers in women this year.
The Cancer Council says this is what you need to watch out for:
Look out for a persistent and unusual pain in your breasts that is not related to your period – particularly when it is just in one breast.
Check your breasts for any lumps, lumpiness or thickening – these can also be under your arm pits.
Any changes, like dimpling, a rash or unusual redness to the skin on the breast.
Swelling, particularly in your armpit – as well as an increase or decrease in the size of your breast.
Nipple changes (e.g. they invert), ulcers, shape change or strange discharge.
🩺 For the best outcomes the Cancer Council recommends regular screening and early treatment.
Did you know: some breast cancers have no symptoms and the only way that they are found is through screening or a physical exam?
What happens if you have it?
The Breast Cancer Network Australia says that depending on the patient, and whether the diagnosis is early or late, the treatment plan will vary.
It is recommended that you read up your diagnosis and treatment so that you can be ready for the conversation with your doctor.
There are a variety of ways that breast cancer can be treated, including: surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone-blocking therapy and clinical trials.
My Journey is a free online portal and app that can help you manage this difficult time and has practical guides and useful resources.
Cancer Australia and the Cancer Council have developed fact sheets (in seven languages) that can help you best navigate your diagnosis.
There are also helplines that you can call for advice as well as online support groups.
Bills don't stop when you are sick, so how can you cope?
No they don't, but there is help and support out there for you.
💰 Zurich says that on average it will cost a household $48K when someone is diagnosed with cancer.
The Cancer Council has a portal with financial and practical assistance – which includes advice, their Pro Bono program and support for travel.
Centrelink benefits may also be applicable to you, and could contribute towards the costs of your home, carer and bills.
Your mortgage broker and bank could also help with a mortgage freeze (where you will likely still accrue interest) for the period you are unwell too.
This is when having life insurance can really pay off – trauma and income protection insurance can be used to help you get through this tough period too.
Utility providers will also provide hardship assistance by delaying payments or allowing you to pay over time, taking the pressure off you to pay your mobile and energy bills while you do treatment.
Be aware: that bad times happen and that there is help out there for you.
SO how would it work if you have cover?
Lisa Varker our Life Insurance expert sees it everyday.
The first thing I always advise my clients to do is to check their life insurance policy, if they have one, to see if they also have trauma or critical illness cover. It's a specific type of life insurance that pays out a lump sum when you're diagnosed with a serious illness such as breast cancer.
Many people aren't aware that they can claim on their trauma cover when they're still working or at the time of diagnosis, thinking they have to wait until things get really serious before they can receive a payout.
I've helped one client with breast cancer make a successful claim for over half a million dollars on her trauma cover and she cried tears of joy when she found out.
Trauma isn't the cheapest cover and most companies have an upper age limit of between 60 and 62, and depending on the insurer, policies will expire anywhere between the ages of 70 and 75. But with one in two Australians likely to get cancer at some point in their life, it can be a very sensible investment.
For breast cancer, insurers will pay out in full for a malignant breast cancer. Most companies also pay a partial benefit for carcinoma in situ of the breast.
When it comes to health insurance, things are a lot more simple. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy for cancer are all covered under the Bronze tier of hospital cover. This is one of the lower cost tiers, so could be a good investment if you don't already have health insurance and are worried about the cost. More expensive tiers of cover will also cover this cancer treatment.
Be aware: If you're taking out health cover for the first time, you'll need to wait two months before you can access the benefits on your policy.
🔍 And if you've already got a cancer diagnosis, then typically health funds will view this as a pre-existing condition and may make you wait 12 months before you can claim on the treatment.
Sharon, lives with breast cancer every day – she is stage 4
Living with breast cancer is no easy feat, but Sharon continues to work and thrive.
This is her story.
In mid- March 2020 Sydney went into lockdown. My employer got a two week reprieve from standing us down and we cleaned the aquatic centre from top to bottom.
I was using unfamiliar cleaning solutions so I wasn’t worried about my increasing breathlessness – I had no other covid symptoms.
But after two weeks of not getting better I went to the GP. They sent me to have a covid test at the closest hospital where I was immediately taken to emergency, then admitted to their Green ICU to await results.
I was negative for covid but the X-rays showed pleurisy and the follow-up CT showed that it was more serious.
Fluid was drained from my lung. The fluid showed the same cells as the breast cancer I was diagnosed with eight years earlier.
I was then told I had had metastatic breast cancer in the pleura of my left lung. I needed treatment and I needed to start straight ASAP.
It was Thursday April 4, 2020. Thankfully with lockdown and Government payments, I was able to get by but I had a period of no income for six weeks where I had to scrape by.
Today, I am still alive and on payment plans for almost everything, including rental arrears. I also continue to work because I have to.
I have some fitness classes thanks to the kindness of my group fitness colleagues, I do front desk hours at the pool and teach swim lessons – it all adds up to about 40 hours a week.
It keeps me busy and, it’s not work if you do what you love, so I’m told. It also helps me pay my bills which never go away.
I’m on a new chemo now – tablets that I take for two weeks on, one week off. It is daunting, and they most likely can’t cure it but they can keep me alive and reasonably comfortable for years.
I feel somewhat obliged to at least try to live longer than my cats.
To be honest, I am just grateful for any extra day that I get.
How can you reduce your chances of getting breast cancer?
The Breast Cancer Network Australia has six key recommendations to minimise your risk.
They are:
Maintaining a healthy body weight by exercising and eating well.
Reduce your alcohol intake to no more than two standard drinks a day.
Reduce or if you can quit smoking.
If you can minimise your combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Breast feed where you can and for longer as it is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer.
If you are in a high-risk group for breast cancer you could also consider pre-emptive surgery.
The bottom line
Cancer sucks and it turns your life upside down.
The Breast Cancer Council says breast cancer is an emotional roller coaster and recommend that you:
🫶 Talk about it – sharing with your network can help you process what is happening.
📔 Keep a journal – it's important to have an outlet for all the emotions you are having.
☎️ If it all gets too much – reach out to the experts to help you, they are there for you.
