Tasha's story

I have three children: 14, 17, and 19 years old. When I first found out I had breast cancer, we decided to be open and honest with the kids because they were at an age where they could understand what my diagnosis meant.

When I started to lose my hair, I involved the kids in cutting it off. My daughter cut my hair first, and then my son used the clippers to finish it all off. That was a beautiful moment because they were happy, and I was happy. It wasn't a sad moment.

Going through chemotherapy, I found it quite challenging because I had a lot of side effects. Before I started treatment, I enjoyed walking my dog a lot, but the nausea from chemotherapy meant I couldn't even leave the house without feeling sick, let alone doing any exercise.

When I was diagnosed, I started treatment straight away and I had to step away from the family business. Leaving behind all the work to focus on my health was challenging for my husband and the staff who had to pick up my job, which added guilt to an already challenging time.

I’ve received great support from my family and friends who have been there for me with phone calls, text messages, and organising meal drop offs. My friends coordinated with different people in the community to drop off meals which was amazing, and I was so grateful for the extra help.

My breast cancer nurse Lianne was wonderful. She's an amazing lady and was very helpful in directing me to the BCNA website. I used the website to look up articles on different topics and side effects that I was experiencing at the time.

My biggest piece of advice to someone that has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer would be to take one day at a time and to reach out for support from your family and friends.