Karen's Story

I’m currently at Maslin Beach in South Australia. In November 2023, I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, which is known to be aggressive. Fortunately, it was caught relatively early, and while it was localized, it had spread to the lymph nodes. I believe that good management on my part helped in this regard. I underwent 20 rounds of chemotherapy and ultimately had a risk-reducing double mastectomy. I am the fourth woman in my matrilineal lineage to have breast cancer.

I miss my old self and my old life, and I know I’m not back to that point yet. Before I had cancer, I walked on the beach every single day. I loved to dance, and I attended a lot of theater performances, live music shows, and bands. I worked four days a week and had a pretty active social life. As one of my friends joked, before chemotherapy, I didn’t have a gray hair on my head, and I was a marathon runner. Of course, that’s not entirely true, but it reflects that I lived my life like it was a marathon.

After my cancer treatment, I find it difficult to stay motivated. Even taking my dog for a walk on the beach feels like a challenge; I really have to push myself to do it.

Physical activity is incredibly valuable for health and well-being, and it helps reduce the risk of recurrence for all cancer types. It's important to engage in activities that get your heart rate up, in addition to just walking. Overall, it was wonderful to have a destination to go to for four weeks.

The research aspect was impressive. I have a strong appreciation for empirical research, and the presenter was exceptional. I deeply respect their knowledge, the quality of their research, and the way they presented their findings. I am genuinely open to contributing to others' research and benefiting from collaborative efforts, like the sessions with this group, which result from high-level research.

I believe it is important to contribute to research wherever possible by participating and providing feedback. I have come to realize that physical activity is akin to medicine. In fact, research indicates that prescribing physical activity is as valuable, if not more so, than traditional remedies for recurrence and prevention. It’s really like providing someone with an elixir.

It's about giving. It's almost like giving someone medicine; it should be prescribed. I'm not sure how we can do that in a way that people who come across it will find it meaningful.

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