First Peoples: Family and support

TOPICS

Family and friends Emotional wellbeing and mental health

First Nations peoples content warning

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that the following content may contain images, voices, or collaborations with people who are now deceased.

Women from First Peoples communities across Australia talk about how they coped during and after their breast cancer treatment, including having family and friends around to support them, speaking to other people around them and doing things that made them happy.

We recommend you take care when watching this video as some people may find the content upsetting. The people featured in this video are sharing their own unscripted personal stories. This is not intended to replace medical or professional advice.

This video was made with support from Cancer Australia through the Supporting Women in Rural Areas Diagnosed With Breast Cancer program.

Leah Family support and friends are really important when you're going through cancer treatment or just having that first diagnosis

Sally I think it's just having that family support or if you've got close friends that can support you it's just having someone there to talk to all the time

Aunty Dot Thinking of family is the thing that should get you through

Erica I used to have the family around just to keep me company

Natasha My mother and my father and auntie's coming to treatment with me and friends coming to treatment with me has been a great advantage as well

Marilyn My daughter ring up mum don't give up and she'll come save spend time with me

Leon I had a lot of support from my sisters they were always ringing me up and my daughter was there 24/7 for me and her kids

Sally my family were very supportive I was able to let my siblings and that know what I was going through and but that I was going to be okay and that they didn't have to worry about me

Natasha It's been a warming experience especially also my brother when I shaved my hair we did that together and did a recording etc so that was wonderful

Erica You know I go out for the day with my husband we go down to the river just to relax

Marilyn Nurses and the staff at the hospital became my sort of immediate family I guess but that the support and help of them I mean it was a struggle I was going through some rough time and yeah I got through thanks to them and my partner my daughter

Aunty Dot It was mainly my friends who you know were there that came along with me so it was great to have support I don't know how I would have gone without you know them coming into to be with me all the time what helped

Aunty Pam What helped me all the way through and even now is exercise is the most important to keep going you know keep doing some stretching go swimming

Erica Been camping a couple of times and that so that sort of help and having my grandchildren around was my big healing

Natasha And just try and breathe through everything do something nice for yourself put some makeup on every now and then and make yourself feel more you

Andrea Having to try and meet deadlines even though there was flexibility that certainly helped me to keep going really having a bit of structure made a difference knowing that I had something else to concentrate on I think I would have gone down quite the rabbit hole if I hadn't have had my study

Aunty Dot I’m always either drawing or painting even going bush is a great thing for me it's like just getting out of the city I couldn't wait to finish chemo to go bush

Lilah I believe in god and I pray every day every day even over myself over my tablets you know making sure that they they're the things they're going to fix me and I know he's with me all the way so if you're if you're a little a religious person as well don't be scared to pray you know always pray and have that faith

Sally Just let it all out and had a good cry because I didn't know what was happening all I did was pray and pray and pray and pray