Key Points
- October is breast cancer awareness month
- The number of breast cancer diagnoses dropped during the coronavirus pandemic in Australia. The country recorded a drop of 150,000 mammograms for early detection from January to June 2020.
- International student in Australia, Isabella de Luca, underwent treatment during the Covid pandemic in Sydney and shares her experience
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. But what is it like to be diagnosed with cancer and undergo treatment during the Covid pandemic?
Ms de Luca discovered she had breast cancer in 2019, a year after arriving in Sydney from Brazil with her husband, José Roberto.
The cancer was stage 3, hormone positive. She went through the 'standard' treatment: medication, chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, but had to do extra surgery due to a chest infection.
Adding to her health complications, the fact of being a migrant and on a student visa made the whole process even more complex, with hospitals, health insurance linked to her student visa and bills. Ms de Luca says that her hospital, Concord Repatriation General, had little knowledge of surgical procedures with foreign patients. "I had to go after all the paperwork until I was able to receive the treatment, I eventually succeeded."
Despite being concerned about treating her cancer during the pandemic, Ms de Luca says that the hospital procedures, and patient care have left her at ease.
I didn't feel like I was going to get Covid. At that time, I had already gone through all the diagnosis and part of the treatment, which gave me a lot of strength to overcome the pandemic.
Another important support she received was from his mother, who came from Brazil to Australia, and managed to enter the country to accompany her throughout the treatment.
But help also came from the Brazilian community in Australia, and from friends and family in Brazil who came together in a big fundraising campaign to assist with some of the costs of the AUD$100k treatment.
“I asked for help, but I didn't think I was going to receive it as I did. It was very special, people who didn't even know me were touched by my story. In Brazil, friends held events there. I took strength from this help that I can't even explain.
"When the pandemic hit, I didn't despair, because I had already been through a situation in my view much more challenging that gave me the strength I needed. I learned we have to dance to the music [as with this pandemic]. We don't have absolute control of everything and if you need to change the path because of something bigger, you change it and accept it and move on."
Before ending her interview, Ms de Luca adds she would like to remind women and men that if they suspect something is wrong to always self exam and do their mammograms. 'Fear sometimes paralyses us and we procrastinate, the sooner you detect it, the higher the percentage of cure'.
