Barbara’s Breast Cancer Journey

Our Finance Business Partner, Barbara Craig, had just turned 50 when she received her ‘Happy Birthday’ letter – inviting her to start getting routine mammograms. Two years later, she went for her second, which revealed something needing further investigation. 

This something turned out to be cancer. 

Treatment followed, with a lumpectomy and radiation, and ongoing hormone blockers. While Barbara’s treatment was intense, thankfully it was successful. But without the routine scans, and therefore early detection, the outcome could have been so much worse.  

Early detection is essential. It allows the treatment to be less invasive, have a faster recovery time, and long-term survival rate is significantly improved. 

Not all symptoms are physical though.  

At no time did Barbara feel anything unusual. Her specialist doctors couldn’t feel the lump – even when they knew where it was!  

The message – do not rely on seeing or feeling something physical. 

Barbara was told her cancer had started growing about 12 months prior to getting checked. This happened to coincide with the start of severe anxiety and struggling mentally, which she had never experienced before. It also happened in late 2020 with COVID-19 lockdowns, and isolation, so Barbara thought this was the source of her anxiety. 

After surgery though, the anxiety lifted. Barbara has since read that anxiety is a known side-effect of cancer – often experienced before cancer has been detected, although it’s not widely spoken about.  

Image above: Avivo’s morning tea in October 2024 for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Conversations

Raising awareness has become important to Barbara – both the importance of early detection and the ongoing support required. 

“Cancer is scary,” said Barbara. “It certainly refocuses priorities in life, but it needs to be an accepted part of normal conversation.” 

Barbara believes talking about cancer and tests will help people get their screening done regularly to ensure early detection.  

It can also help those with a diagnosis feel less isolated, and able to talk about it if they need to. 

“So, ladies, if you or a loved one are over 40 and have not had a mammogram in the last two years, please book one in,” urged Barbara. “It’s not hard and it may just save your life.” 

The message – do not rely on seeing or feeling something physical. 
Barbara