100,000m Swim for Breast Cancer

I am swimming 100,000m (100km) from November 2018- as quickly as I can- as part of my million metre journey which I hope to finish this before December 2019 to raise money for two great charities. I intend to raise awareness on early diagnosis after a tough year battling breast cancer that was undetected by all the screening. I would like a world free of breast cancer. I want to show my daughters that you can turn adversity into something positive. This is for all the women going through a tough time with cancer. #PinkSisters Thank you for your consideration.
Current Progress: 24 April, 2019= 90,000m
I swam my first ocean race in Freshwater (1.5km) and I swam a slow 51 minutes. This was followed by a second race in Terrigal (1km) in 26.48m.
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This is my story, which began on December 7th 2017.

I was finally on the plane to the USA with my two girls. Had I packed everything? No. As usual, it was a last minute scramble. Did I care? No, not really. We were finally on our way and settled in for the next 12 hours. Like most working mothers, I had been flat out for the past few months.

Two of my colleagues had been amazing and convinced me to go and get my health checked out, despite being in a particularly busy phase.

We were finally on the plane. My two Girls and I chatted away for most of the flight. About 4 hours away from landing. I remember looking in the bathroom mirror and saying to myself -I am cancer-free as far as I know for another four hours, so I am going to enjoy that fact- I went back to my seat and watched a movie.

Two weeks before I left, I finally managed to schedule an MRI for a lump that had been bothering me in my left breast. For more than two years it had bothered me, and I continually had tests mammogram, ultrasound or MRI. On my last MRI just over 6 months ago, it was normal. This time, I had to keep moving my appointment and changing dates as life got in the way. My doctor insisted on seeing me after the MRI. It was normal, but given I was complaining of the lump, they decided to to an ultrasound and mammogram also. There was no rush, but because the radiologist recommended it, it was worth doing.

At the encouragement of a colleague, I called before I got on the plane and managed to get an appointment the day before I left due to a cancellation. During the ultrasound, two radiographers had a look at my very visible lump. Then the radiologist came out. He had seen a very slight shadow on the mammogram, but it did not appear to be anything. While it was not likely to be anything to worry about, I could biopsy the lump. It was fine if I wanted to think about it, but they could do it right now. I chose right now.

They day finished in a whirlwind as I finished work and packed up for a 6am flight.

We landed in Los Angeles and, as the plane pulled up to the gate, I turned on my phone. And there it was. A short email. The words etched into my mind forever.

Unfortunately it is a cancer and I would like to operate as soon as possible- before Christmas.

I turned to the girls and said: I have cancer. We need to go home. Oblivious to the girls, their reactions or their feelings, I marched straight to the cabin crew and told them what happened. I was ushered to the front of the plane. Within seconds, I was connected with ground staff. I was stunned, but I had to get home. There were beautiful hugs from the Qantas staff to myself and my children. We were whisked through customs with someone picking up my bags for me. By the time I was at the top of the ramp, Qantas had booked my ticket home- on the same plane we had landed on less than an hour before. They found us a hotel for the day. My girls were visibly distressed. I had no emotion. Deep down, I think I was relieved that the thing that had been constantly bothering me- hurting and nagging me for months- now had a name.

It was Cancer.

We spoke to family and friends, but I could not cry. I was emotionless. I think I had suspected the Cancer was there all along. I could feel it constantly.

Landing in Canberra was a blur. My husband was beside himself. The in-laws were visiting. My parents and sister were coming to visit too.

There were no hard decisions to make- I knew what I wanted to do. Double mastectomy. I was completely comfortable. I wanted the Cancer out and I wanted it out now. In the end, it was my only option, though they could only do one breast at a time due to the length of the surgery. I had to wait a week while I had endless scans and tests to see if the cancer had spread.

It was not obvious anywhere else. As the week dragged on, the need to get the Cancer out of me grew. Finally, the day of the mastectomy arrived, and the only thing that made me cry was my daughters picking up a guitar and singing Ed Sheerans Perfect.

I am lucky for now. My cancer is a stage 2b ductal invasive carcinoma. It was not in my sentinel lymph nodes, but it is suspicious for ductal invasion. The Cancer was 7cm. Much larger than a typical breast cancer diagnosis. It had been there a few years.

I knew. It bothered me. I kept going to see specialists about it. None of the tests showed it. Not an MRI, a mammogram nor an ultrasound. Had the radiologist NOT done the biopsy, I would have continued only to have a nagging feeling and my prognosis would be much worse.

While I am now in unchartered territory for me personally- the battle for life- I am thankful.

I am thankful for my colleagues telling me to follow it up and not to wait.

I am thankful for Jeremy from the imaging company for squeezing me in for an appointment.

I am thankful that the radiologist came and personally saw me and took the biopsy. He saved my life.

I am thankful for the staff and crew from Qantas for being so kind and compassionate.

Since my surgery I have had three months of chemotherapy and 28 sessions of radiation. I have had stints in hospital, been horrendously sick and my skin burnt beyond recognition. I am now on hormone blockers to get rid of any fuel for the cancer cells that might have escaped. This causes agonising pain to my joints some days, but I don't care. I am doing everything I can to be here for the long haul. Still, I have been told the cancer could come back anytime, with the next two years being the highest window for return.

Cancer is remarkable. My outlook on life shifted within seconds. What is really important and what is not. I have been humbled by the support from family, colleagues old and new, and friends. I do not sweat the small stuff. Things can wait, but Life can not.

I am sharing my story not to focus on me, but raising awareness about this disease. While the thought of Cancer returning looms in the back of my mind, I am feeling amazing and getting stronger every day. I have kept myself busy with the support of work and my children. Now I want to find a purpose for me having gone on this journey. If I can save the life of one other person, then that is a good thing to come from bad.

My view is that mammograms and diagnostic technologies ARE excellent. They DO detect disease. Many cancers are picked up through mammograms alone. More through a combination of tests. I do not want to discourage anyone from having these excellent tests. My story of cancer not being detected, however, is unfortunately not unique. I want women to hear that sometimes, you feel something is not right. Keep asking questions. Have another test. Do not put off your health. It can impact not just your life, but those that you love. If breast cancer is detected very early, the likelihood of long-term survival is around 100 per cent.

While I would not want anyone else to go through what I have over the last eight months, the fact is there will be around 18,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone. I am worried about those whose cancers are NOT found... I hope by sharing this story more women in a similar situation will ask more questions and catch their cancer early.

I am feeling so good at the moment, so I am swimming 1 million meters to raise money and awareness!
As of December 20th, I have swum in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Queanbeyan and Colorado in sub zero temperatures (up to 11,500m)...
Update Jan 3rd, 2019 I am up to 16,500m (including a few swims in the Bahamas!!) Update on Feb 3rd, I have swum 37, 500m. April 24, 90,000m.