By Carolyn Sloan

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com



“Ask me anything,� she says, frankly. “I just look at it as I’m sick and this is the medicine I have to take to get better…I’m not ashamed. It hasn’t changed me. I’m still the same person I was before.�

Audrey Balcom sits at her kitchen table, stylishly dressed in black with a pink bandana around her head and a fashionable chunky necklace to match.

The place is cozy and comforting, filled with homey touches – fall decorations, warm woods, folk art and wonderful cooking smells.

She looks me straight in the eye. They are the eyes of a healthy, strong and confident woman – cheerful, direct, unphased by life’s ups and downs.

“I think a lot of people think it’s a personal issue,� Audrey explains. “It’s almost like people walk on eggshells around you.

“Ask me anything.�

I ask her to tell me the story from the beginning.

It all started last April. Audrey had just won a trip to Germany from Breakfast Television. She had also found out the day before that she had breast cancer and would probably be going through chemo and radiation treatment.

A lump had been discovered in Audrey’s breast two months before she left for Ontario to see her daughter. As it was not unusual for her to find benign lumps now and then, she let it go and went for her visit.



Cancer confirmed

After coming back home and went to the surgeon who confirmed that it was, in fact, a cancerous growth.

“I knew as soon as I saw him,� she says. “I was so mad, I thought I was going to tear his office apart… Not mad at him…I was just mad at the world and I had those emotions, just flying.

“It wouldn’t take much to make me cry. I thought, ‘Oh, God. When are they (my emotions) going to stop?’�

Audrey always knew that there was a good chance she would develop breast cancer when she was older, but had adopted the attitude that she would deal with it when the day came. Even now, she has her good days and bad days, but has come to accept the cancer as a part of her life’s journey.

“When I first found out,� she says. “I couldn’t even get the word [cancer] out of my mouth. It took two months before I was ready to actually say, ‘This is what I have. I have cancer.’

“It took a lot of thinking. After I was comfortable with it and realized that this is the way it is… It didn’t bother me...It’s almost like that’s the beginning of your journey, [to accept it]…The only way it will go away is if you deal with it.�

Since April, Audrey has gone through a biopsy, and a lumpectomy, and will soon be given her third of four chemo treatments that will be followed by five weeks of radiation in Halifax.

Her doctor had given her several options for treatment and she chose the one that would take the least amount of time, eager to return to work as someone who is used to being on the go all the time. In fact, after her operation, she was only off for two weeks before she was ready to go back to work, at least until her treatment began.

With the first chemo treatment, Audrey says she experienced intense nausea, a common side effect, as the body tries to expel the toxin. However, after her doctor increased her medication, the nausea subsided and now, she is at the point where there is only a little morning sickness, which is really the only significant side effect she has experienced thus far, that, and losing her hair.

Audrey says that while spending time in the cancer unit at the hospital, with many patients both young and old, it still always seemed like she was the only one with no hair – something she finds amusing, even though it was difficult to see her once beautiful, thick tresses thinning and breaking off.

“You know, I can joke about it because I’ve earned the right to joke about it,� she says, her face lights up with laughter. Her strong, striking features soften into a smile. “It (cancer) is not funny, but it’s the lighter side of it.�

Joe Balcom, Audrey’s husband, comes to sit beside her and share his side of the story. It seems there is an unspoken and quiet ease between them.

“As always, it’s an eye opener,� he explains. “I just try to be there for her when I can… I must say, she’s very determined… [We] just try to go by day to day.�

“He puts up with a lot from me,� says Audrey, with a knowing smile. “I have a big fan club support group.�

With the end of treatment in sight, all Audrey can think about is going back to work and continuing on with her life as she always has. Her odds are good, especially since the cancer was detected early. After radiation, there is a 96 per cent change that the cancer is not coming back.



Next year?

“Next year this time, I hope I can say goodbye!� Audrey exclaims, blowing a kiss.

“Cancer treatments aren’t like they used to be years ago. There’s so much out there in the treatments. The treatments have improved with new technologies…Everybody has their own thoughts on it… [but] it’s not as bad as what people think it is.

“It’s opened my eyes to see there’s more people out there that are less fortunate… that receive treatment everyday.�

After this is all over, Audrey is thinking of taking that free trip to Germany, though it is still up in the air. A lot could change between now and then, and she’s not going to make any solid plans.

“I don’t look at myself as having cancer,� says Audrey, “only when I have bad days, but I’ve had them before. I don’t feel any different…You do, you find that strength. You just have to look down inside yourself and pull that strength out.�



Signs of breast cancer

- Lumps

- Nipple changes

- Changes in the size and shape of the breast

- Changes in the skin of the breast



Early Detection

- Women who find a lump should come for a clinical breast exam

- Self breast exams should be done once a month coupled with a yearly clinical exam to ensure early detection of breast cancer

- Mammogram should be done yearly for women ages 40 to 50 and every two years for women 50-69

- 25 % of breast cancers are found by self-examination alone, 35 % by mammograms and 40 % can be felt and seen through mammograms/exams

- Ultrasounds are being more commonly used to determine whether lumps are benign or cancerous

- Biopsies, MRIs and gene testing can also be used in some cases to look for breast cancer

- Breast cancer that’s found early can usually be treated successfully



What is breast cancer?

- Almost all breast cancers start in the glandular tissue of the breast

- Cancer cells may start in the ducts (ductal carcinoma) or in the lobes (lobular carcinoma)

- Breast cancer starts when ordinary cells multiply and become out of control

- Cancer cells can grow their own blood supply, spread to other parts of the body and often trick the immune system so that the body isn’t aware of their presence

- Breast cancer doesn’t grow overnight and most types take years to develop

- In situ: Early stages of cancer where the cancerous cells are only located where they began

- Invasive cancers less common, but more serious as they can spread to other parts of the breast and the body

- Inflammatory cancers, like Paget’s Disease, usually look like breast infections and often spread to other parts of the body



Breast Cancer statistics & facts

- In Canada, 22,220 women and 160 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year

- 5,300 women and 45 men will die from breast cancer this year

- Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canadian women

- There are at least 15 types of breast cancer and each varies in terms of its speed and aggressiveness



Risk factors for developing breast cancer

High risk (4 times normal risk)

- female

- age

- previous history of breast cancer

- family history of pre-menopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and/or cancer in both breasts



Moderate risk (2-4 times normal risk)

-l ater pregnancy

- previous biopsy shows abnormal cells



Weak risk factors (1-2 times normal risk)

- post menopausal obesity

- diet

- first period before age of 12

- menopause after age 54

- family history of post-menopausal breast cancer

- prolonged hormone use

- moderate to heavy alcohol consumption

- environment

- race possible factor as well



Source: Information obtained through AVH nurse practitioner Jacinta Harvey.