Robyn’s Story

Hi my name is Robyn and I was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in the April 2014 when I underwent a lumpectomy and node wide resection. That was followed by the monthly intravenous chemotherapy and 33 radiation sessions. I was a single mum with a very supportive sister and cousin who got me through.

I was far from believing this was in any way a threat to my life, I worked 16 hours a week from home throughout treatment and was back full time as soon as I could. My work was a large part of my persona. I moved on and almost forgot about that year. 

4 ½ years later it did not dawn on me that my back pain would be anything more than me being negligent and that I had lifted something the wrong way. That year I had 3 colds and a dose of what I want to call the flu. I had had a few doses of gastro too. I had two urinary tract infections which I never had before and I was so so so tired …bone tired I would say…. My GP looked at me and said you’re a mess and I don’t know where to start.

We got a chest x-ray done to look at the thoracic spinal bones where I was experiencing the pain…but they reported on my lungs as that bout of the flu had been harsh on my lungs, and they overlooked the spine. Eventually when I started getting severe headaches related to muscle guarding and pulling on the spine they suggested a CT. Yep there it was T 4 -5 metastatic cancer. Can’t biopsy it, too hard to access, stable enough not to do surgery but close enough that you may experience neurological symptoms. I am now experiencing some numbness in the leg on one side and hand on the other side.

I was lucky that I qualified for one of the new drug trials ribociclib, but that trashed my liver. Oh but there is another that works slightly differently, Pablociclib… My cancer grew and was now in T6. Next in line of the various treatments was Capecitabine. My heart was going over 130 just folding the washing. I've now started the IV chemo Paclitaxel ….. fingers crossed.

I am so grateful for finding the Thursday girls as there has been so much I have learned from their experience and support they give me when I'm down and having one of those tearful days. No judgement, they are just there with ears, tissues and genuine understanding.

I never knew there was more than a few drugs to treat the cancer with, or that some people live longer than 10 years with the disease, or that there was so-oooo many types of breast cancer, or that with treatment it could be undetectible for a period of remission.

This journey is no longer all about me, it’s about the team supporting each other to find the easiest way to navigate side effects and emotions. Not only for me but also the emotions of my loved ones too.

May 2019