By Karina Stathis for Daily Mail Australia
13:18 28 Jul 2024, Updated 13:18 28 Jul 2024
A month after Jo Buena had a double mastectomy to remove three small cancerous tumors in her breasts, she immediately felt “disconnected” from herself when she looked in the mirror.
The then 46-year-old was overwhelmed with emotion. She asked herself, “What have I done to myself? I feel like Frankenstein.”
Fit and healthy sales analyst from Melbourne He was diagnosed with breast cancer on January 11, 2023.
Just a few weeks ago, in ChristmasShe felt a small but hard, pebble-like lump on her left breast while lying down and rushed to the doctor. That was her only symptom.
A mammogram and breast X-ray confirmed two malignant tumors in her left breast and a benign tumor in her right breast, and she is scheduled to undergo surgery in a few days.
“I could only feel one lump near the surface of my left breast, and I had no idea about the other two,” said Jo, now 47, adding that the doctor suggested a double mastectomy.
“I was in denial.” [about the cancer] I didn’t have time to panic. Preparing for surgery and packing my bag was like going to a hair appointment, and I didn’t have time to think about it.
“Before the surgery, I felt like I was about to lose a part of myself – I knew I wouldn’t be the same after the surgery. Although I joked before the surgery that the bright side was that I would have prominent breasts for the rest of my life.”
Recalling the first time she noticed the lump, Jo says she was “lying in bed” scratching her left side when she felt it.
“It was hard and firm — like a smooth pebble,” she said.
It is common for women to experience breast discomfort during their menstrual cycle due to fluctuating hormone levels – which can also cause areas of lumpy breast tissue that feel painful, sore and swollen.
But Jo knew the lump wasn’t just fatty tissue because it “didn’t move” and was “sticky” to her breast.
The fact that she was 46 years old – the same age as her mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer cancer – It was a coincidence that Joe couldn’t ignore.
She added that before her mother was diagnosed, her family was free of any cancer or disease.
She then received her diagnosis along with two of her aunts and three of her cousins at around the same time.
“We were desperately trying to find a surgeon to see me, and luckily my sister who was scheduled to have the BRCA gene test was able to give me her appointment,” Jo said.
At that time there was also a large backlog of patients waiting to see doctors due to Covid.
“The day I was diagnosed, the surgeon said, ‘Okay, Joe, we have a problem. This is cancer. This is how we’re going to treat it,’” Joe said.
“But even before we got the results, she was thinking about all the different options, so I knew I was in good hands. She assured me that I wasn’t alone and that she would help me.”
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After learning that her mother had died in 2004 from the same cancer, the surgeon recommended a double mastectomy “immediately” to reduce the chance of the disease returning in the future.
“I’m not really a spiritual person, but I knew it even before I saw my doctor and got the results, because I had a dream about my mom and she just said, ‘I’m sorry,’” Jo said.
Although being told you have cancer is something no one wants to hear, the news didn’t hit her right away and a wave of emotions hit her as she sat in the hospital.
The doctors were injecting her with a “radioactive dye” to make sure her lymph nodes were clear of any cancer cells, and at that moment Jo started crying uncontrollably.
A month later, when the bandages were removed, I realized the truth.
But she knew having a double mastectomy was “the right decision” – even if the cancer was in its early stages.
Jo said watching her mother receive cancer treatment when it came back twice was very painful – and she didn’t want her to suffer the same fate.
“I thought if I had to go through this, I would just go through it once, and that’s it,” she said.
In February, she also needed to have her ovaries removed because her type of breast cancer was hormone-responsive, causing her to enter early menopause.
This was part of her treatment plan to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.
“I don’t want to feel sorry for myself, I’m still lucky, I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. So I’m not complaining,” she said.
Jo is sharing her story ahead of Daffodil Day on Thursday, August 22, to raise awareness and ensure others check their breasts regularly – especially those with a family history of cancer.
“Breast examination should become a habit like brushing your teeth. That way you can tell what you feel and if something is abnormal or has changed,” Jo said.
