By Bronwyn Hastings

A well-timed chance discovery  devastatingly changed Emily Moore’s life, but also ensured she could keep on living – the then-29-year-old discovered a cancerous lump in her breast, which was spreading quickly.

Ms Moore said finding the lump above her right breast about a year ago had resulted in her taking ‘quite a journey’.

“I literally just scratched my chest one day and felt something,” she said.

“I checked the other side, thinking there would be a matching lump, but there wasn’t. It freaked me out a little bit.”

With next to no family history and a healthy lifestyle of eating well, not smoking and having limited alcohol, Ms Moore booked a doctor’s appointment, thinking it would be nothing.

“I lived well – I’d even had two kids and breastfed both those kids,” she said.

Studies have shown breastfeeding lowers the risk of both breast and ovarian cancer in women.

“I saw the doctor the next day. She said it was a good sign the lump wasn’t anchored, but booked me in for an ultrasound six weeks later,” Ms Moore said.

“That came back as category three, which meant they didn’t know if it was good or bad, so they booked me in for a biopsy six weeks later, which came back as positive.”

Ms Moore was diagnosed as HER2 positive, with the lump growing at an aggressive rate of 60 per cent – most breast cancers grow at a rate of less than 10 per cent.

From first feeling the lump mid-October 2023, the process of finding a diagnosis took until January 9. By then, the cancer had spread.

“There were two tumours next to each other, the primary one was 35 millimetres, and three positive lymph nodes under my armpit,” Ms Moore said.

“I was referred to an oncology practice in Ballarat and was in the next day. 

“I saw a surgeon and an oncologist and got on-the-spot mammogram, ultrasound and an MRI. That was a big day.”

Ms Moore had a lumpectomy on January 24, which removed three-quarters of her breast and 14 lymph nodes. 

She started ‘red chemo’ in Ballarat every three weeks for four rounds from late February, which forced her to have a week off work each round to recover.

“Once I had finished that chemo, I went on to one that was 12 rounds over 12 weeks, but at least I could do that in Horsham,” Ms Moore said.

“Most people don’t get through all rounds, but I did, which was good.”

Ms Moore said she was ‘lucky’.

“I only threw up once, but every time I had chemo, I had a new symptom,” she said.

“I couldn’t stand bright light, I got gum ulcers and now need a gum graft, and obviously my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes fell out.”

Chemotherapy finished in August, but more surgery was required as tests did not return a clear result.

Ms Moore opted for a skin-saving mastectomy about six weeks ago, which found no cancerous tissue within her breast, but could not determine if there was more in her chest wall tissue or underarm.

She begins three weeks of daily radiation – except for weekends – this week in Melbourne.

“Then I get to hang tight for about a year, but I’m still getting HER2 treatment, every three weeks for one-and-a-half hours,” Ms Moore said.

Ms Moore’s port remains in her inner arm, allowing for her future treatment.

“And when it’s all done, I’m going to get a bottle of port tattooed over it, with the date of my last treatment,” she said.

Ms Moore said her treatments were costly – more than $300 a session with her Ballarat doctor.

“My radiation is also out-of-pocket, but it’s partially because of the team of doctors I got put with, but it does mean I have the same doctor and a higher standard of care,” she said.

“At least in Horsham, I’m not charged.”

Next year Ms Moore will have a mastectomy on her left side as a preventative measure, but will face more expense to have reconstructive surgery.

Upheaval

In the month leading up to discovering the lump, Ms Moore had gone through two major life events – the beginning of a new accounting job, and a new relationship.

“It was just hard because I started a new job two weeks before I got diagnosed, and I’d only been dating my girlfriend, Sav, for a month. When I found out, I’d only known her for two months,” Ms Moore said. 

“But to her credit, she’s stuck by me. She’s amazing.”

Owing to her treatments, Ms Moore missed personal events typical of people her age – an overseas trip with friends for a joint-30th birthday, a Parkway Drive concert – and will miss some of her children’s milestone events – her youngest son is transitioning from kindergarten to school next month.

The added costs related to travel and staying in Melbourne for treatment while taking time off work has added to the burden – changing jobs left her with no sick or annual leave.

A GoFundMe has been started to support Ms Moore and her family – ‘Support Emily’s Fight Against Stage 3 Breast Cancer’ – and there will be a silent auction at the Royal Hotel on November 29. People can search for the Facebook event ‘Em’s cancer silent auction’ for more information.

“Money raised will help us in the day-to-day, and will take the pressure off having to work, instead of spending time with my boys,” Ms Moore said.

Check yourself

Ms Moore encourages people to check their breasts.

“Females should check themselves each month during their periods, when you know your body is consistent with hormones, you will notice any other changes,” she said.

Ms Moore has maintained a positive outlook throughout.

“But you know, it’s my journey, so I can pick how I handle it. Everyone’s different in that way, but I do tell people I have a dark sense of ‘tumour’,” she said.

“If I’d gotten a really bad diagnosis, I probably would have sold something or cashed something in and gone on a holiday with the kids – I would have made memories.

“But I’m pretty positive – you laugh, you cry. I think I’ll laugh.”

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