HOW A CASE OF SHINGLES SAVED SARAH’S LIFE

When fit and healthy 38-year-old mum Sarah Withyman found a small lump on her breast in 2021, she wasn’t expecting it to be cancer.

However, at the urging of a new friend who just happened to be going through breast cancer treatment, Sarah sought medical advice.

The lump turned out to be shingles, but her doctor sent her for a mammogram and an ultrasound just to be safe. That’s when Sarah was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive type of the disease.

“They found a tumour which was completely unrelated to the lump that took me to the doctor,” explains Sarah. “If I hadn’t got that mammogram and ultrasound on my doctor’s advice, I might not be here today.”

Sarah saw a specialist and within the next week she was operated on. She had multiple surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy and then a double mastectomy.

“We were in the middle of COVID, so it was a very strange time,” she says. “The worst of it was the initial fear of thinking I may die from this disease, but once I was told my lymph nodes were clear and my prognosis was okay, I had to do everything I could. I opted for a mastectomy instead of radiation, which was a big decision, but I just wanted to put an end to it if possible.”

The young mum was fortunate to have a strong support crew to help her with her three young children Lennox (now 15), Georgie (now 11), and Alby, (now 8). Sarah says many chance events led to her diagnosis and that if she hadn’t met her new friend, she may have been more dismissive.

“I couldn’t get a mammogram appointment in my local area for three months, so I drove an hour away to have that done. I could have so easily not done it, and this could have been a whole different story,” she explains. “The tumour I had was quite aggressive but caught early. You just think it’s never going to happen to you, but a check could save your life.”

Sarah is the face of Breast Cancer Trials’ For Our Mums Appeal, a matched donation Giving Day to be held on Thursday 7th May. For 24 hours only, donations from the public will be doubled dollar-for-dollar by a group of generous supporters, to help fund life-saving clinical trials.

“Breast cancer research means that now when people are diagnosed it’s not a death sentence – there’s more hope,” says Sarah. “Just think, if it was your mother, your wife, your daughter – funds are vital for the research Breast Cancer Trials does to help find a better way forward.”

“Clinical trials enable us to find new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating breast cancer,” says Katie Couani, Individual Giving Manager at Breast Cancer Trials. “This giving day, named the For Our Mums Appeal, is an opportunity for people to double the contribution they can make to life-saving research, in honour of the many people who have lost their own mothers or grandmothers to breast cancer, and the women diagnosed who continue to put their families first.”

To donate to Breast Cancer Trials’ For Our Mums appeal, please visit For Our Mums Giving Day – Save the Date 7 May or ring 1800 423 444.

Contact: BCT Media & PR Lead, Sara McGregor – 0424 591 241 or sara.mcgregor@bctrials.org.au

Our life-saving breast cancer research is only possible thanks to the continued generosity of our supporters.