Barbara Amalberti was 46 years old when she received her breast cancer diagnosis.
It came completely out of the blue. Amalberti did not think she was particularly at risk, and as a mother of two young daughters, she was shocked by the diagnosis.
Yet, as she tells SBS Italian, she feels grateful for that diagnosis, because thanks to the cancer's early detection and swift intervention of her doctors she has been able to recover.
“I found this lump, I thought it would be nothing but I went to have it checked," she says. "It was, in fact, a tumour.”
Amalberti recalls that it was her job at Cancer Council Australia that pushed her to perform a breast self-exam.
She had no relatives who had had breast cancer, she didn't smoke, nor was she overweight and had breastfed her two children. But the small lump she found was a tumour, which was swiftly removed with a lumpectomy.
“I have never smoked," she says. "I never drank. I breastfed my daughters for a long time... I thought I ticked all the boxes. But it can happen to anyone.”
Years later, Amalberti believes she was helped by her early diagnosis and by the fact she decided to trust her doctors.
She says it was never an easy experience, but that it served as a strong reminder to anchor herself in the here and now. Mindfulness has since become part of her everyday life and of her professional life as a counsellor.
As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this is an opportunity to remind those close to you about the importance of early detection of cancers.
Mammographic screening is available in Australia for women aged 40 and over. You can find more information on the BreastScreen Australia Program here.
