Survival story worth sharing
A JEWISH mum from Templestowe is among six ambassadors for the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s (NBCF) Pink Ribbon Breakfast campaign for 2013.
A JEWISH mum from Templestowe is among six ambassadors for the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s (NBCF) Pink Ribbon Breakfast campaign for 2013.
Hynda Feldman, who was given the all clear only months after being diagnosed in 2011, is confident that research rendered her journey far less traumatic than it might have been some years ago.
In October 2011, a routine mammogram revealed Feldman had calcium deposits in her breast, which hadn’t been there two years earlier.
“Without research they wouldn’t have known these calcium deposits were pre-cancerous cells,” Feldman, 53, told The AJN. “Ten years ago that wasn’t known.”
When two lumpectomies were not completely successful, Feldman underwent a mastectomy, but was fortunate not to require chemotherapy or radiotherapy because of how early her cancer had been detected.
“From my point of view, what helped me through the journey was that they [the doctors] had said to me, ‘Although it’s bad news, we’ve caught it early and we can treat it’ … I was never sort of given the doom and gloom.”
After her experience, Feldman discovered some women at her shul had never had a mammogram. She sought to arrange a guest speaker through the NBCF, who suggested she might make a good speaker – and so the connection came about.
Since then, she has addressed different audiences, and as an ambassador, will speak at a variety of events. She constantly stresses the value of early detection, urging women to schedule regular mammograms and check their breasts. “You can’t expect a good outcome of treatment if you’re not going to be vigilant in checking your breasts,” she said.
A mother of three with two young grandsons, Feldman believes it is the positive outcome of her story which made her an attractive ambassador for the cause. “I think they liked the positivity of my story … It was a case of early detection, then I got treatment, and was able to get on with my life.”
As part of the Pink Ribbon Breakfast campaign, Australians are invited to host events to raise money for further research into the prevention and cure of breast cancer, an idea Feldman encourages people to take up if they can.
Breast cancer affects one in eight Australian women during their lifetime, with the rate being slightly higher within the Jewish community. October is breast cancer awareness month.
To get involved, go to www.pinkribbonbreakfast.org.au.
PHOEBE ROTH
Hynda Feldman was given the all clear only months after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011.
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