I did everything right, but I was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 46 years old

A month after Jo Buena underwent a double mastectomy to remove three small cancerous tumors in her breasts, she immediately felt a sense of “disconnection” from herself when she looked in the mirror.

The 46-year-old was overcome with emotion. “What have I done to myself? I feel like Frankenstein,” she wondered.

The fit and healthy sales analyst from Melbourne was diagnosed with breast cancer on January 11, 2023.

A few weeks earlier, at Christmas, while lying down, she had felt a small, firm, pebble-like lump on her left breast and had rushed to the doctor. It was her only symptom.

A mammogram and X-ray confirmed two malignant tumors in her left breast and a benign tumor in her right breast and she was scheduled for surgery a few days later.

“I could only feel one near the surface of my left breast – I had no idea about the other two,” said Jo, now 47, adding that the doctor suggested a double mastectomy.

“I was in denial (of the cancer) and I didn’t have time to panic. I was getting ready for the operation and packing my bags, it was like going to the hairdresser, I didn’t have time to think about it.

“Before the surgery, I felt like I was going to lose a part of myself. I knew I wouldn’t be the same afterward. Although I used to joke that the silver lining was that I would have firm breasts for the rest of my life.”

Thinking back to when she first noticed the lump, Jo said she was “lying in bed” and scratching her left side when she felt it.

“It was hard and firm, like a smooth rock,” she said.

It is common for women to experience breast discomfort during their menstrual cycle due to fluctuating hormone levels, which can also cause areas of lumpy breast tissue that are tender, sore, and swollen.

But Jo knew the lump wasn’t just fatty tissue, because it “wasn’t moving” and was “attached” to her breast.

The fact that she was 46 – the same age her mother was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer – was a coincidence Jo couldn’t ignore.

She added that before her mother was diagnosed, her family was free of any cancer or disease.

She was then diagnosed at the same time as two aunts and three cousins, at around the same time.

“We struggled to find a surgeon to see me and luckily my sister who was due for a BRCA genetic test was able to book me in,” Jo said.

At the time, there was also a significant “backlog” of patients waiting to see a doctor due to Covid.

“The day I was diagnosed, my surgeon said, ‘Okay Jo, we have a problem. It’s cancerous. This is how we’re going to manage it,’” Jo said.

“But even before I got the results, she was thinking about all the options, so I knew I was in good hands. She made me understand that I wasn’t alone and that she was going to help me.”

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Knowing that her mother had died in 2004 from the same cancer, the surgeon recommended an “immediate” double mastectomy to reduce the risk of a future recurrence.

“I’m not really spiritual, but I knew it before I even saw my doctor and got the results, because I had a dream about my mom and she just said, ‘I’m sorry,'” Jo said.

Although being told you have cancer is something no one wants to hear, the news didn’t sink in right away and a wave of emotion washed over her as she sat in the hospital.

Doctors injected a “radioactive dye” to check the lymph nodes for cancer cells, and at that point Jo began to cry her eyes out.

A month later, when the bandages were removed, reality hit.

But she knew that having a double mastectomy was the “right decision,” even though the cancer was early.

Jo said seeing her mother undergo cancer treatment twice was traumatic to watch – and she didn’t want to suffer the same fate.

“I told myself that if I had to go through this, I would go through it once and that would be it,” she said.

In February, she also had to have her ovaries removed because the type of breast cancer she had was sensitive to hormones, leading to early menopause.

It was part of his treatment plan to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.

“I don’t want to feel sorry for myself, I’m lucky: I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. So I’m not complaining,” she said.

Jo is sharing her story ahead of Daffodil Day on Thursday 22 August to raise awareness and ensure others regularly check their breasts – especially those with a family history of cancer.

“Checking your breasts should be a habit, just like brushing your teeth. That way you know how you feel and if anything is wrong or changing,” Jo said.