We know that facing a breast cancer diagnosis is a daunting thing to experience. But for some, the challenges, fears, and uncertainty can be compounded by a lack of access to culturally competent care and tailored supportive resources that truly understand and address the unique needs of diverse community groups. We’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of resources we know to be helpful and can provide much-needed assurance and support to culturally diverse communities, young women, those with high familial risk and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Fourteen years ago, I got the news that I had cancer. It was in both breasts. My colleagues were there for me all the way. Then, after nine months, my treatment ended, and I went back to work as a family doctor, but things were different. I was fragile. I had a new body. I was living with a newly diagnosed BRCA gene mutation that put me at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. I required a prophylactic hysterectomy and breast reconstruction, making choices that would impact me and my family. The psychological impact was massive.

Put your hand up if the thought of being screened for breast cancer never crossed your mind until you or your doctor found a lump in your breast or armpit? I’m literally holding my left arm up in the air right now, as I type this. Crazy isn’t it, that we don’t think to have the girls checked to make sure they’re healthy until something goes wrong or until someone we know has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

My adrenaline now pumping, I knew what she was going to ask. I was already reaching into the back of a dark closet as the rep faintly suggested, “You wouldn’t happen to have…?” “Yes!” I replied excitedly. It was the Thursday before Easter and the cancer centre was closing for the four-day weekend, but I promised to scan the documents and email them to the rep before her return on Tuesday. My initial consultation with the lead oncologist was scheduled for the following Friday and there was no time to lose. “Let’s get this show on the road!” I rallied.

My mother was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at the age of 30, both of which are strong indicators of a genetic mutation. My mother was quick to expose my sisters and me to the danger we may face in young adulthood following her diagnosis.

My cancer journey began when I noticed my right breast leaking. I honestly chalked it up to a hormone imbalance and thought nothing of it until six months later, when the leaking had not subsided, and my breast had become very itchy. During this time, I had also noticed how tired and fatigued I was every day. I found myself napping a lot and needing that nap to just make it through the day. I decided that I better make a doctor’s appointment to see what was going on with my body.

Firstly, I want to say that I am not sharing my story to encourage anyone to quit treatment. Please don’t! This is risky. I’m really rolling the dice here. I am choosing my quality of life over longevity. That’s not for everyone. I had been unable to tolerate any of the aromatase inhibitors (AI; a type of hormonal therapy used to lower estrogen levels to slow or stop cancer growth), so I felt I had little choice but to pursue other options.

I’m a Tamoxifen fail. I quit taking the drug just shy of my five-year prescription’s halfway mark. The estrogen-blocking pill fried my short-term memory within the first 14 days and then, tormented me daily with its version of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.” And lucky me. I experienced every single one of them.

I don’t need to tell you what was happening between 2019 and 2023. By May of 2022, I’d received four COVID-19 vaccinations and felt confident to attend a musical production with my niece. We were front row centre and seemed to be the only patrons with masks, soon discarded I must confess. When I found myself coughing a few days later I assumed it was COVID that I’d picked up in the theatre and left it to my presumed immunity to deal with.

Having a solid strategy for gathering trusted and dependable information is critical for making informed treatment decisions when it comes to your health.  It is also important to be able to communicate assertively with healthcare practitioners as an equal partner in shared decision-making.