A month after Jo Buena underwent a double mastectomy to remove three small cancerous tumors from her breasts, she felt an immediate sense of “disconnection” from herself when she looked in the mirror.
The woman, who was 46 at the time, was extremely emotional. “What have I done to myself? I feel like Frankenstein,” she asked herself.
The fit and healthy Melbourne sales analyst was diagnosed with breast cancer on January 11, 2023.
Just weeks earlier, at Christmas, she felt a small but firm, rock-like lump in her left breast while lying down and 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 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 (about the cancer) and I didn’t have time to panic. Preparing for surgery and packing my suitcase was like going to a hairdresser’s appointment – there was no time to think about it.
“Before the operation I felt like I was about to lose a part of myself. I knew I wouldn’t be the same after the operation. Although I used to joke before that the silver lining was that I would have firm breasts for the rest of my life.”
When Jo Buena (pictured) lost her mother to stage three breast cancer, she was devastated, but knew she didn’t want to experience the same fate she witnessed.
The Melbourne-based retail analyst received the shocking news just after Christmas in December 2022.
Recalling the first time she noticed the lump, Jo said she “lay in bed” and scratched her left side when she felt it.
“It was hard and firm, like a smooth stone,” he 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 to feel tender, sore and swollen.
But Jo knew the lump wasn’t just fatty tissue because it “wasn’t moving” and was “stuck” to her breast.
The fact that she was 46 (the same age as her mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer) was a coincidence Jo couldn’t ignore.
But despite the ordeal, she still considers herself “lucky” because the cancer was caught in time and diagnosed as stage one because it has not spread to her lymph nodes.
Recalling the first time she noticed the lump, Jo said she “lay in bed” and was scratching her left side when she felt it. “It was hard and firm, like a smooth rock,” she said (pictured with her partner).
She added that before her mother was diagnosed, her family was free of any cancer or disease.
She then received her diagnosis along with two aunts and three cousins, all at almost the same time.
“We were struggling to find a surgeon to see me and luckily my sister, who was scheduled for BRCA testing, was able to give me her appointment,” Jo said.
At that time there was also a large backlog of patients waiting to see the doctor due to Covid.
“The day I was diagnosed, my surgeon told me, ‘Ok Jo, we have a problem. This is cancerous. This is how we’re going to handle it,'” Jo said.
“But even before we had the results, she was already thinking about all the possible options, so I knew I was in good hands. She made it clear to me that I wasn’t alone and that she was going to help me.”
Jo is sharing her story ahead of Daffodil Day on Thursday 22 August to raise awareness and ensure other people check their breasts regularly, especially those with a family history of cancer.
Upon learning that her mother had died in 2004 from the same cancer, her surgeon recommended a double mastectomy “immediately” to reduce the chance of it returning in the future.
“I’m not really spiritual, but I knew 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 immediately and a wave of emotion washed over her as she sat in the hospital.
Doctors were injecting a “radioactive dye” to check that the lymph nodes weren’t riddled with cancer cells, and Jo began to cry profusely.
A month later, when the bandages were removed, that’s when reality hit me.
But she knew that having a double mastectomy was the “right decision,” even though the cancer was in its early stages.
Jo said watching her mother go through cancer treatment when it returned twice was traumatic and she did not want to experience the same fate.
“I thought if I had to go through it, I’d do 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 hormone-responsive, leading to early menopause.
This was part of her treatment plan to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.
“I don’t want to feel sorry for myself, but 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 other people check their breasts regularly, especially those with a family history of cancer.
“Examining your breasts should be a habit, just like brushing your teeth. Plus, that way you’ll know how you’re feeling and if anything isn’t right or changes,” Jo said.