Jo Mathers was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks before last Christmas and is grateful to Tauranga Breast Cancer Support service for helping her along her ongoing cancer journey.

The 64-year-old says the news of her diagnosis came after a she got a mammogram late-2021. 'It was a week of waiting around Christmas time which wasn't a very good time. Then I got a consult with the surgeon to tell me that it was cancer,” says Jo. She says the cancer she has, known as HER2-Positive, was very small and luckily detected early. 'The surgeon told me they could get it out and he didn't think it was in the lymph nodes.”

Help in other ways

Receiving a breast cancer information packet from her surgeon during her diagnosis, Jo discovered Breast Cancer Support Tauranga's pamphlet. As a charity where cancer survivors support those who are newly diagnosed, Jo's daughter Lana encouraged her to get in touch with them. 'My daughter said: ‘Mum there's going to be no better support than someone who has been through it'.”

Jo says that surgeons, nurses and oncologists give medical knowledge and support, whereas Breast Cancer Support Tauranga gives help in other ways. 'What breast cancer support does is just listen and offer support as much or as little as you want.”

Every step

After going through breast surgery in January, Jo received a heart pillow from BCST to help with post-surgery discomfort. 'Then I went through six weeks of recovering from the surgery and then went straight into chemotherapy which was pretty gruelling,” says Jo. BCST was with her every step of the way, checking in on her with phone calls and offering her meals when she didn't feel up to it. 'I just have absolute gratitude for Breast Cancer Support Tauranga because there's nothing like someone who has been through the journey themselves,” says Jo.

Having gone through surgery, chemotherapy as well radiotherapy, Jo is now receiving Herceptin – a drug that prevents further cancer growth – which she will receive until March 2023.

'We don't know we're going to get something like cancer, we don't expect it but if we know there's support there, it really helps a lot,” says Jo, who also thanks her family, friends and medical professionals helping her through her treatments.

If you are going through breast cancer, or awaiting diagnostic test results and need support, visit: https://www.breastcancerbop.org.nz/

Jo Mathers receiving chemotherapy. Photo: supplied.