www.breastcancer.org.au1034 Wellington St, West Perth WA 6005 | PO Box 250, West Perth WA 6872 Phone (08) 9324 3703 Fax (08) 9485 2593 Email info@breastcancer.org.au ABN 77 221 238 430

August 2014

1034 Wellington Street,West Perth WA 6005PO Box 250, West Perth WA 6872Telephone (08) 9324 3703 info@breastcancer.org.auwww.breastcancer.org.au

To donate securely online, please click the ‘Donate’ button above. Alternatively you can call us on (08) 9324 3703 to make a donation over the phone. Thank you in advance for your support.

Do you have a couple of minutes?Dear Supporter,

Do you ever find yourself saying, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day!”

Time is one of our most valuable and irreplaceable commodities. Here at Breast Cancer Care WA we know quite a few ladies who are making the most of every single day, because they know their time might be cut short.

Please take a couple of minutes now to read Clare’s story which was recently featured in ‘The West Magazine’.

Thanks to your ongoing support, we were there when Clare needed somewhere to turn when she was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer last year.

As a 37 year old neo natal nurse and mum to Keisha 19, Susan 16, Nikita 13, Jack 11 and Elijah 8, Clare has a lot to think about. What she tries not to think about is how much time she might have left with them. They’re all just making the most of every single day and thanks to you, we’ve been able to provide support when they’ve needed it most.

Clare was first diagnosed with breast cancer eight years ago when she was just 28 years old

and 15 weeks pregnant with her youngest child, Elijah. It was a huge shock, but in spite of having to have a mastectomy and chemo, she was rewarded with a healthy baby boy and given the all clear.

“It was stage two, it was caught early, it hadn’t spread and as far as I knew it was contained.” Clare recalls. “I went

back to my oncologist once a year and had mammograms. I never ever thought I was

going to die from cancer!”

Life was good. The kids were growing up, so Clare decided she’d like to lose weight

and improve on her already gorgeous looks. She Photo: Clare with Aileen, one of our lovely counsellors, raising funds to help others on Purple Bra Day.

consulted a specialist about having lap band surgery but was devastated to be told a scan of her liver showed cancerous lesions.

Further tests showed she was at ‘stage 4’. There is no stage 5.

The disease she thought she had conquered had just been hiding all those years, quietly invading other parts of her body.

Doctors didn’t give her a lot of hope. She just hopes for time – time to be with her kids, to try to plan their future – and time for some medical miracle to be found.

Reeling from the shock of her cruel diagnosis Clare rang Breast Cancer Care WA.

“I didn’t know who else to call. Maria, one of the breast care nurses said she would come over. I said ‘My house is a mess!’ She said, ‘That’s ok we don’t care what your house looks like’. She came over and she sat there for as long as I needed and she made me feel better.

They were there for me; I’ve rung them crying and not knowing what to do and they’ll say, ‘Do you want us to come over?’ If I need them they’ll come.”

At Breast Cancer Care WA we’re there for people like Clare – whenever they need us.

To brighten their day and help them stay positive, we try to provide families like Clare’s with enriching experiences.

Thanks to the support we’ve received from you and our very generous sponsors we’ve been able to send Clare and the kids for an amazing day out at Adventure World, as well as a trip to the Royal Show with show bags for the kids. She’s had her home freshly painted thanks to our very kind corporate volunteers and sponsors; and we made sure her 37th birthday was a big celebration thanks to the Boatshed in South Perth with a luxury limousine ride for the whole family courtesy of Bellagio Limousines.

With your donations, we’ve helped with financial support and rent payments when Clare has had to take time off for treatment. Yet she still goes to work as a nurse in the neo natal ward, caring for little ones struggling to strengthen their hold on their own fragile little lives. When filling out her registration forms recently it asked her to fill in how long she plans to keep on nursing, Clare says, “I just put five

years, because I have no idea. Then I went back and wrote 10 years. Then I thought, no, so I went back and put 15 years. I could be here for two years, I could be here for five years. My goal is 15”, she says, and who knows maybe she will.

With your support we’ll be with her and her young ones all the way.

Over the past year Clare has found attending our advanced support group meetings with other people in a similar situation as herself has been a great help for her in dealing with this new and frightening stage of her life.

Last year Breast Cancer Care WA provided 88 support groups over 10 locations as far as Mandurah in the south, Heathridge in the north and Midland in the east. They are a very important part of supporting our ladies, who often feel uncomfortable talking to friends and family about what they’re going through.

Photo Top: Claire out on the town with her beautiful kids for her 37th birthday. Photo by Steve Ferrier. Courtesy of The West Australian Below: Painting up a storm thanks to corporate sponsors and volunteers

Another of our ladies, Monica says, “I have found going to Breast Cancer Care’s support groups such a help and comfort, especially meeting some of the lovely ladies who have shown so much courage and give you hope and strength and you never have to feel alone again. There is always someone only too happy to help. They get how you are feeling. They have walked the walk to talk the talk”.

Our support groups are just one of the many services we provide to help deserving people like Clare and Monica get through one of the most difficult times of their lives.

By sending a donation of just $50.00 you could help us cover some of the costs of running the 88 support groups we hold each year.

But…as a regular supporter of the work we do, you know that support groups are just the beginning.

People with advanced breast cancer face many emotional and physical challenges. During this time their requirements may change and their needs will increase. Currently there are few services, other than ours available to them – which is why I am writing to ask for your help once again.

Every year in WA 1500 people are diagnosed with breast cancer and deal with shock, fear, stress, pain and months and months of gruelling treatment.

Please make a generous donation today to help make life just a little easier for someone like Clare and her five children whose lives have been turned upside down through breast cancer.

We simply can’t do it without your help and we believe no one should have to face breast cancer alone.

Thank you for caring

Donna RendellChief Executive Officer

Here’s how you can help special women like Clare at a time when they need it most. A recent client survey we conducted listed the two main areas of concern being emotional and financial stress.You could help us alleviate this unnecessary stress by making a donation or a monthly pledge today towards one of the items listed below

$30 - could help pay a phone bill to keep families in touch $50 - would help cover the cost of resources needed for the 88 support groups our counsellors facilitate over 10 locations throughout the year$75 - would help with a couple of hour’s house cleaning for clients who are unable to lift anything heavier than a loaf of bread after surgery$80 - could treat someone to a pamper day to help them relax and re-energise during and after treatment$90 - can help pay the power bill and keep someone warm this winter$100 - will help us retain our three counsellors and three breast care nurses who provided 5,583 occasions of support in the past 12 months$125 - could treat a family to a fun day out together$200 - could help stock a pantry and fridge and keep a family of four nourished for a week$500 - could help alleviate financial stress and pay for rent or a mortgage repayment for people unable to work during treatment

P.S. Breast Cancer Care WA is unique in that we provide a range of free breast cancer specific services, outside of the hospital setting, throughout the entire breast cancer journey. Your donation today will ensure more families receive the help they need… when they need it most. Thank you.

Just click the ‘Donate Button’ to the left to make a secure donation online. Thank you.

1034 Wellington St, West Perth WA 6005 | PO Box 250, West Perth WA 6872 Phone (08) 9324 3703 Fax (08) 9485 2593 Email info@breastcancer.org.au ABN 77 221 238 430

© THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Clare’s story recently featured in the West Australian. Reproduced here with permission.