Together for breast cancer - BCNA
Mez_BCNA
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With October being breast cancer awareness month, we wanted to share updates with you throughout! So simply scroll down this post to see updates within the comments! 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month starts today, and it’s the
perfect time to get together with your community to support Australians
affected by breast cancer.
We love to see the Pink Sports Day clubs kicking off the month the right way with their #PLAY4BCNA activities. Here are a few fantastic photos from our Pink Sports Day hosts so far this year!
Host your own Pink Sports Day with your club or school team this month by registering here https://www.bcna.org.au/host-a-fundraising-event/
Together we're helping all Australians affected by breast cancer.
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At Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) our theme this year is ‘Connection and Community- Together for breast cancer’.
We’ve designed this year’s theme to recognise that, while a diagnosis of breast cancer looks different for everyone, we can work together to ensure all Australians diagnosed have access to the resources and support they need.
Together we’re making an impact this month by sharing information to help those affected by breast cancer to live well during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and beyond – including topics about metastatic breast cancer, mental health support and how to show your support.
We look forward to connecting with you this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Find out more about what we're doing here: https://www.bcna.org.au/breast-cancer-awareness-month/
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Meet the Hardmans.
After facing an initial early breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, Kate was told that her cancer had metastasised to her spine last year. Her cancer spread while pregnant with their third child.
Kate and her husband Kriss (who faced a testicular cancer diagnosis in 2020) are devoted to sharing their journey on their Instagram page @_thehardmans
Kate and Kriss are transparent about their experiences, answering questions openly and de-stigmatising what it’s like to live with metastatic breast cancer.
In this video Kate shares three things she wishes people knew about metastatic breast cancer.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAku5nAvQku/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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Community means something different to everyone. But what’s
universal is that community can have a positive impact on people affected by
breast cancer. This might look like dropping off meals, helping with the kids, accompanying to an appointment, hosting a fundraising event, connecting with others in the same boat, or simply having a chat over a cuppa.
What do you love most about your community and why?
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What’s something you want people to know about metastatic breast cancer?
"MBC doesn't mean you look sick but there are many side effects to cope with and they vary all the time." - Cathie
Cathie is part of BCNA’s metastatic breast cancer Lived Experience Reference Group using her lived experience to help inform BCNA’s policy, advocacy, and service development priorities.
She says "sometimes, people say I look great, but that day I may have nausea, aches, pain, brain fog, extreme fatigue or waiting for scan results to find out whether the cancer inside is stable. Saying I look good is nice but it can sometimes feel dismissive."
BCNA’s Online Network has a discussion forum for people with metastatic breast cancer to connect and share their experience with others going through the same thing. You can join via the link https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/group/2-living-with-metastatic-breast-cancer
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Can you believe it's been 20 years since Berlei and BCNA started working together?
Berlei have been such an important part of our community - from supporting BCNA with their Pink Bra Campaign, to their tireless work helping us distribute more than 225,000 free My Care Kit bras to people in the first 12 weeks post-breast cancer surgery and during radiation treatment.
Together we've made an impact, and we’re so thankful for their dedication and support to those affected by breast cancer.
Thank you, Berlei! Here's to many more years of working together 💖
Checkout the Berlei video via the link https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA4capKsMwC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==3 -
October 13th 2024
“If we can’t be counted, how can we be looked after properly?”
Counting matters, as Lisa Tobin, BCNA Consumer Representative, reminds us.
It’s been two years since our Making Metastatic Breast Cancer Count campaign and a year since releasing our paper ‘Time to Count People with Metastatic Breast Cancer - A Way Forward’.
BCNA advocates every day for those living with metastatic breast cancer to be consistently counted in cancer registries.
“Despite being raised as an issue throughout BCNA’s 25-year history, we remain in 2024 with no picture of metastatic breast cancer – not just in Australia, but around the world” said Vicki Durston, BCNA’s Director of Policy, Advocacy & Support Services.
Vicki, speaking in Portugal as President of the General Assembly for the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Alliance, emphasised the urgent need for accurate data to drive the changes that will improve outcomes for people with metastatic breast cancer worldwide
🔗Read our paper Time to Count People with Metastatic Breast Cancer - A Way Forward via the link https://www.bcna.org.au/resource-hub/research-reports/time-to-count-people-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-a-way-forward/
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‘Ask for and accept all the help you can get. Don’t be too proud to ask.’
Even if you don’t think of yourself as a carer, your role in helping someone with breast cancer is important.
Andrew is a partner of someone with breast cancer who is reminding us that taking time to care for your own health and well being is important.
If you aren’t sure how to support someone in your life with breast cancer or you need help navigating your role as a carer, you can call our free and confidential Helpline for information and support on 1800 500 258 between Monday- Friday 9am – 5pm.
Thank you to the carers of those with breast cancer 💖
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Did you know invasive lobular carcinoma can be difficult to see on mammograms?
Invasive lobular carcinoma is the second most common type of breast cancer, but it can be hard to see on mammograms.
Why? Because the cancer cells spread through the breast tissue, so they don’t always form a lump the same way other cancers do.
We did an episode on invasive lobular carcinoma in our podcast series ‘Upfront about breast cancer’. Surgical oncologist and specialist breast surgeon Professor Bruce Mann broke down all the information about it including how artificial intelligence and computer algorithms can be used in diagnosis - Listen via the link Invasive lobular carcinoma (bcna.org.au)3 -
So useful to have the link, thanks @Mez_BCNA. There’s a lot to take in when we are diagnosed and I wasn’t aware how invasive lobular cancer could be difficult to see. I also learned that for ongoing monitoring it was important to know if our mammogram showed whether we had “dense” breasts (or not)!
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When Brett from Queensland was diagnosed with breast cancer it came as a surprise.
“I felt fear initially, and to be honest confusion about how I – as a man – could get breast cancer,” he says.
Brett’s mother was diagnosed twice with breast cancer and Brett has since found out he carries the BRCA gene. He has undergone a single mastectomy.
“At the time, this was incredibly confronting for me and I didn’t know what to feel,” he says. “it’s an unbelievably tough journey, but once you embrace it you can either let it define you or you can define your own journey – which is what I am trying to do.”
Brett says support from BCNA improved his journey and he now wants to pay it forward by sharing his story and making others aware that breast cancer isn't just a women’s disease.
“Breast cancer does happen to men, so if you detect something don’t delay any testing or ultrasounds,” he says. “If you are diagnosed as a man, there is support and plenty of it – just reach out and ask.”
You can read Brett's story via the link Brett Wilson's Story1 -
You’ve probably heard the term ‘treatment team’ but what does it actually mean?
A treatment team may include a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, specialist surgeon, oncology/chemotherapy nurse, breast care nurses and your general Practitioner (GP). The team meets regularly to manage your personalised treatment plan and ongoing care.
Your medical team is often comprised of a group of professionals who you don’t know and who come into your life at short notice, in a highly stressful and emotional time.
If you need help navigating relationships with your medical team, check out our podcast ‘Forged in fire: relationships with your medical team and self-advocacy' Forged in fire: you, your medical team and self-advocacy0
