Image Credit: Global BC

By Silvia Senna

BREAST CANCER

‘Once you’ve had cancer, you’re always aware’; Survivors talk about their journeys with the most common cancer for women

Oct 19, 2023 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — One-in-eight women are likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, making it the most common cancer among women.

“Like everyone, it’s a shock. You really don’t know what to do,” said Biruta Groves, who was diagnosed 13 years ago. “The waiting is the worst because you’re waiting for appointments, you’re waiting for diagnosis, you’re waiting for results, you’re waiting for when you’re going to have your surgery. It’s just a waiting game,” she told CFJC Today.

October is breast cancer awareness month — and Groves in not alone. Grace LaBossiere went through a similar experience back in 2002.

“Cancer’s a scary word. The first thought is, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to die.’ Once you’ve had cancer, you’re always aware. I’m always aware. And no, I didn’t die in January of 2002. But yes, I’m still very aware that cancer is always hanging over your head,” she said.

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Sharla Ross is a registered nurse who works at the Rae Fawcett Breast Health Clinic, that opened in 2017 in Kamloops. She said the clinic is a one-stop shop.

“If we look at the model before the traditional stream compared to now with the Breast Health Clinic, the wait time from presentation to treatment was 80 days. And now, with the Breast Health Clinic, it’s 50. So we’ve cut that by a month,” she explained.

At the same time the clinic was being launched, Groves and LaBossiere created a support group in Kamloops to help other women who might me facing the same challenges.

“We try to tell them that there’s other people that have gone through this. There’s always somebody at the group that has gone through something that is not the same as yours, but similar. They help each other. Nobody understands it truly unless they’ve been through it and we’ve been through it,” explained LaBossiere.

After 13 years of being diagnosed, Groves says there is hope for those who can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel: “Hang in there. You can fight it and you will fight. Just keep the hope and fight. Take care of yourself.”