Younger Women Breast Cancer Support Group

I went along to a support group tonight for women under the age of 45. It was very interesting and it felt good to chat with other women who had the same condition as me. It was a very small group of six women. Three were going through treatment, one was post treatment for breast cancer but at risk of ovarian cancer and the oldest woman who perhaps was in her 40s had breast cancer 20 years ago. It was so fascinating to hear how each woman's treatment plan was different and specific to each unique diagnosis, though we all shared the same condition. Three women had mastectomies straightaway; one did not have chemo; one did not have radiotherapy. Two of the women had also  undergone reconstructive surgery and I was amazed to find out that in both their cases part of their stomach had been used to do the reconstruction! Essentially they also got a tummy tuck in the process! Amazing what modern medicine can do nowadays! Their stomach and the surrounding areas still work as before and their boobs do feel like boobs!

One lady who was living out in Beijing had discovered her illness and has flown back to the UK to receive treatment. Small world that it is, she and her family had lived in Hong Kong before Beijing due to her husband's job and her son was born there.

One lady is still on her journey with cancer even though it has been four years on since. Laura discovered she had breast cancer when she was pregnant and had had her 20 week scan. She underwent a mastectomy whilst she was pregnant but had to wait till the birth of her daughter before undergoing chemotherapy. And even then she had to have an early caesarean so that she could begin chemo. She's since had a fertility test which has informed her that she is infertile, and also now she has discovered that she has a 40% - 60% chance of having ovarian cancer and so has decided to remove her ovaries! My heart went out to her. Thank God she has a daughter.

It was really good to chat to these women, to share the upheaval of having such a serious illness, to learn about how they have made decisions about their treatment and how they have managed the rest of their lives during their journeys. Whilst I knew that I was not alone, this was the first time that I had met other women who specifically had my type of cancer and it's comforting to know there are others going through what I am going through.