Luisa's Story
When she felt a random lump one day she organised to have a mammogram - which didn't pick anything up. Her doctor had also organised an ultrasound, which turned out to be potentially life-saving.
Luisa saw her GP to receive the results, and she was so confident nothing was wrong that she had her 14-year-old daughter with her.
But, while the mammogram hadn't found anything, the ultrasound revealed a 2.2cm growth.
"I could see the doctor's lips moving, but I couldn't hear anything after she said cancer.”
“My 14-year-old daughter was in hysterics, bawling her eyes out. That was the worst part for me. It was devastating for her."
To make things worse, it was her other daughter's 16th birthday that day. Luisa still thinks about that Sweet Sixteenth being ruined by cancer.
"You often hear about a friend of a friend getting cancer, or you know someone that knew someone that had it. But then when it's you, or close to you, it's a shock. An absolute shock."
Now, Luisa is determined to encourage more women to get checked.
"It doesn't matter how old you are, how fit you are, or even whether you have breast cancer in the family - it can happen to you."
Luisa hopes that Pink Ribbon raises much needed funds this year for Cancer Council.
“You don't have to be physically affected by cancer yourself, but I can guarantee there is someone close to you that has been affected, or will be affected”
“You could go grocery shopping and that person in front of you could've had cancer. It affects a lot more people than you think.”
