I live on a cattle property 120km from the nearest town, Charleville, in south-west Queensland. My husband and children are country born and bred but I am originally a city girl and continue to straddle both lives.
In 2004, at the age of 45, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had 6 months of treatment in Brisbane, 1000km from our home, I went home twice during that 6 months.
Although this sounds terrible I feel like one of the lucky ones which is why I later became involved in advocacy for the care of women with breast cancer.
My children were all in Brisbane, our son was at Uni and our 2 girls were in boarding school. The girls and I lived in a unit together and our son was a frequent visitor, often with his mates for dinner. This was wonderful as they had all been at boarding school and away from home for years. I often wondered how I would have managed if the youngest had been 3 and not the 13 that she was.
I grew up in Brisbane and know my way around Brisbane and the health system very well. The unit was within walking distance or one bus stop from the oncology centre. I was dealing with having breast cancer, the treatment and being away from my home and husband but I was not getting lost in an unfamiliar city, travelling for hours for treatment, as many women do, or daunted by the medical environment.
I initially became involved with BCNA as the Queensland representative on the Rural and Remote Working Party. This group of women, who I didn’t meet in person until the Summit last year, are inspirational. They reside in all parts of Australia and are dedicated and tireless workers, within their own communities and beyond, for women with breast cancer.
In my region there were no dedicated services for women with breast cancer, no breast care nurse and no support group. I am a fiercely private and independent person but soon came to realise the value these services could be to many women in the region. Bush women are notoriously stoic and self-reliant but a diagnosis of breast cancer is the time to reach out to let others give you that helping hand, the journey does not have to be taken alone.
I took part in Consumer Representative training in Brisbane, with another fabulous group of women. Breast Cancer Association of Queensland (BCAQ) holds an annual rural seminar with speakers from the medical disciplines involved with breast cancer treatment, support workers and consumers. In 2008 this occurred in Charleville where I spoke as the BCNA consumer representative. A sub-committee was formed in south-west Queensland with members from all towns and areas in between. One of the roles of BCAQ is to fund breast care nurses in rural Queensland, through support, advocacy and fund-raising we now have a breast care nurse, based in Charleville, who is providing services across the south-west. This is a 3 year position, in partnership with Queensland Health and the sub-committee is determined that this role will continue and be expanded.
I currently represent BCNA on the executive committee of the Australasian Society of Breast Disease (ASBD). ASBD includes all medical disciplines, involved with breast disease, and the primary role is organising scientific conferences, usually every 2 years, which include a consumer forum. BCNA is determined to keep these forums relevant to the needs of the women. I like to think that I am there as the reminder that the woman is at the centre of the treatment of breast cancer, just like the BCNA symbol, the woman.
Advocacy is challenging but also extremely rewarding and personally fulfilling.
The gift is in knowing that you may have helped at least one woman on her journey with breast cancer, a journey none of us should undertake alone.
-- Julia, QLD
