In May 2000 right after my 30th birthday, I found a small lump in my left breast, to describe it as close as possible, it felt like a frozen pea and it hurt to touch in any way, even to lay in bed on my side, actually that is how I first noticed it, it felt like the sheets were bunched up or my pj's ( I hope that is an easy explanation). Two weeks later after some research of my own, I realised it was most likely cancer, due to the pain and the area it was attached ( yes I could feel it), so I took myself off to my doctor had all the checks - ultrasound, biopsy and core biopsy and I got to know the name of what I was fighting, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma. At the time I was diagnosed and through the operations and treatments, the breast cancer council let me know that there was only one other woman in Australia with my type of breast cancer, she was 79 years old and living in WA, so unfortunately that was no help to a 30 year old mum of two in QLD. By the time of my first operation it had grown from 3 inches to 11 inches, the doctors informed me that if I had not had the operation I would only have had months to live, it was very aggressive. But with the love and help of my Mum and Dad I got through all of the non stop op's, invasive and painful tests and the treatments that followed. I can never repay them for being there for me and for instilling in me the strength to not only beat it, but to know with a certainty right from the start that I was going to live. I was lucky to have found it early, so it had not spread and I only had to have a partial mastectomy and radiation treatment, so I am triply blessed and forever grateful to my family and god for me being here for my kids today.

Sharon Hansen
Beaudesert, Australia