Breast cancer survivors say issues like early menopause, loss of identity often overlooked

Just days ahead of her 40th birthday, Hilary Boswell received a terrifying diagnosis – She had breast cancer.

She received a unilateral mastectomy, a surgery she didn’t necessarily want but felt pressured into by her surgeon. It left her with one breast and, she says, it changed the way she saw herself.

“I remember struggling so much with the idea of walking around with one boob,” she said. “I just really felt like I knew what I wanted… and yeah, I wish I had done it, “ she added, referring to a double mastectomy.

Like Boswell, other cancer survivors sometimes struggle to accept the changes brought on by surgery or chemotherapy – such as early menopause, or loss of libido. And they don’t always get the support they need.

As Alyssa Julie reports in our series Against all Odds, some survivors and experts are asking health professionals to shed more light on the impact of a cancer diagnosis on the body and the mind.

- With files from Michelle Butterfield.

#GlobalNews #cancer #breastcancer

[Veganvipassi]

Going through menopause at 41 and then again at 48 was quite an ordeal. I was also refused my request for a double mastectomy.

[frenchysandi]

I had lumpectomy which was not too bad but 5 years of aromatase medication which removed estrogen and turned my body into a that of an old woman. Skin turned into crepy mess, arthritis turned into a painful monster, in short was awful.

[plantfit]

Yep, just happy to be alive, can cope with everything else.

[notenough]

Denied satisfaction in relationships, makes a recovering more difficult. The hormone released within the body is of a healing process itself. I spent 17 years with a doctor who instilled the truth of that factor. He requested that any loss of my self gratification, alone or otherwise called for a change. If you are in a miserable empty space, how do you become grateful.
Frustration depletes energy, not feeling whole allows vulnerable conditions.
Only you truly know what you are challenging. I rest better when I have a clear belief of understanding. It’s not about refusal of treatments. For me, it’s the quality to any given day. Money is the last consideration to feeling safely guided. True friends and family with open professional communication.

[ethimself]

The current medical system is not only broken but is also at least 15 years behind the Real Medicine available. Hard to believe but true

[thantunaunggoldeneagle]

***I SAID PRAYERS FOR ALL BROTHER'S AND SISTER'S***
****CIVIL WAR FROM MYANMAR ( BURMA )**** TY !

[anneonnamouse]

Both sexes get breast cancer... Why always only focus on one?

[LithaMoonSong]

And no one tells them fasting can cure them. And intermittent fasting can prevent it.