“Can I still have a baby?” These were the first words Rachael uttered back to the medical team delivering her cancer diagnosis when she was just 36 years old. She had triple positive breast cancer – a type of breast cancer in which the tumor cells have estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and a larger than normal number of HER2 receptors on their surface.1 Reflecting on that moment, she recalls one of her earliest thoughts: “What if I die having never become a mum or experiencing parenthood?”
Rachael’s desire to have a family became her priority, highlighting how personal and unique every cancer diagnosis is, with each individual carrying their own fears, hopes, and considerations for treatment. That pivotal meeting set in motion a rollercoaster treatment journey. Just two days later, Rachael was in an IVF clinic, beginning the process of freezing embryos to preserve her fertility before starting an intense treatment regimen. Chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, anti-HER2 therapy, and hormone therapy were all necessary to treat her cancer and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Over the 11 years of treatment, Rachael faced significant physical and emotional challenges. Following her mastectomy, reconstruction wasn’t possible due to blood clots caused by her portacath (a small device implanted under the skin to aid in drawing blood or administering medicine). The physical toll of treatment was immense. Rachael lost all her body hair, had steroid-related bloating, had difficulty walking due to bone pain, lost all sense of taste and struggled with chemo induced neuropathy and brain fog. Yet, it was her mental health that suffered the most. Even now, years later, she is processing the trauma of her experience, which she likens to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With her doctor’s approval, she paused hormone treatment after two years to try for the baby she longed for, which resulted in a successful pregnancy and the birth of her son. Six weeks after birth she was back on hormone meds and in a medically induced menopause.
Today, Rachael has No Evidence of Disease (NED) and is the proud mum of an active, thriving eight-year-old. “I can’t have any more children; he will be our one and only. Whilst I’m disappointed he won’t have a sibling, I feel so lucky he’s in our lives. He is loved beyond words.”
Rachael’s experiences ignited a powerful drive to help others. She ran a support group for younger women with breast cancer and now works as a patient advocate, providing her insight on treatment guidelines and contributing to campaigns for national charities and government organizations.
With her advocate hat on, she feels hopeful that personalized healthcare will better support the highly individualized journeys cancer patients go on but warns that the less common cancer types urgently require more research leading to treatment options to achieve improvement in survival rates seen in other cancers like breast.
When thinking about the future, Rachael describes how being a cancer patient leaves an ever-present shadow of fear. “While the treatments and milestones bring moments of relief, the spectre of recurrence looms quietly in the background. Each scan, ache, or unexplained symptom can trigger a spiral of 'what ifs'. The future, once a landscape of endless possibilities, has become carefully planned for, filled with hope yet tempered by caution.” Despite this uncertainty, Rachael finds strength in cherishing the present. She believes in finding beauty in life’s simple moments and living fully each day. Her coping mechanism is clear: focus on the here and now, embracing life’s fragility while holding on to hope.
This story was captured as part of Jazz’s campaign to mark World Cancer Day. The World Cancer Day theme 2025-2027 “United by Unique” places people at the center of care and their stories at the heart of the conversation.
1National Cancer Institute. NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms. Triple-positive breast cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/triple-positive-breast-cancer. Accessed January 23, 2025.
