DOREEN'S STORY

At 90 years of age, there weren’t many things that were left to surprise Doreen, but her breast cancer diagnosis at the end of last year was certainly one. Recalling that she hadn’t had a mammogram for a number of years and after self-examination, Doreen felt a lump. Following a check by her GP and further tests, she was told she had a 36mm lump in her breast.

Although coping with the degenerative eye condition, macular, Doreen is still very active. ‘The macular has stopped me driving but that hasn’t kept me indoors too much,’ she says before detailing her visits to her Probus clubs, musical mornings, lunches, visits to the cinema, church attendance and other outing with her friends.

Doreen’s three helpers Sha, Lupa and Ross, made sure she had transport, accompanied her to her sessions, helped with reading the literature and just as importantly, supported her with a friendly coffee and a chat on many occasions.

‘They were wonderful, always so attentive and caring,’ Doreen says. It’s easy to hear the affection and gratitude in her voice as she continues, ‘I couldn’t speak highly enough of them and CanCare are wonderful. They were a true support, right from the start. I would be happy to recommend CanCare to anyone.’

Doreen’s radiotherapy treatment finished last week and while she’s still ‘a little up and down’ she had no side effects from the treatment itself.

Doreen still lives in the house her husband built that they moved into the night they were married 69 years ago and as she says, ‘There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.’ While she may be taking things a little easier for the moment, she’s hoping it won’t be long before she’s enjoying more day trips with her friends.