Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month this October, Star Weekly reporter Sam Porter spoke to Keilor Park resident, mother, breast cancer and uterine cancer survivor Irene Karagiolis about her cancer journey.
In May 2017, Irene Karagiolis was diagnosed with breast cancer after having a mammogram at age 40.
After not finding any trace of the disease, doctors recommended she return for another check 18 months later, however, Irene decided to test again after 12 months.
“The breast cancer had developed and it had spread in that 12 month period out of nowhere,” she said.
“It was a shock. I was only 41 years old…if I waited 18 months, my prognosis would have been a lot worse.”
In Australia, women qualify for a free mammogram every two years if they are aged between 50 and 74.
However, as Irene had a family history of breast cancer she was advised to get mammograms from 40 years old.
“There’s more and more women these days that are getting diagnosed a lot earlier… I was fortunate that I had that deadline for a repeat mammogram.”
Irene’s breast cancer was aggressive and had spread to her lymph nodes.
She underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy followed by six weeks of radiotherapy.
During her treatment at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Irene was offered a treatment called scalp cooling.
According to breastcancer.org, scalp cooling systems and cold caps, which are tightly-fitted, helmet-like caps filled with cold gel or liquid, are fitted to patients undergoing chemotherapy to help people keep some or most of their hair.
The devices work by restricting blood vessels beneath the skin of the scalp, which reduces the amount of chemotherapy medicine that reaches the hair follicles.
“I felt good about myself physically as I was able to keep the majority of my hair due to scalp cooling. I think that is so important when you go through this journey as a woman…it gives you that confidence to feel a lot better,” Irene said.
After chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, Irene was able to return to work and to her regular life.
She was given medication, tamoxifen, which is highly effective at preventing breast cancer recurrence.
“One of the very unlikely side effects of tamoxifen is uterine cancer. Obviously, they tell you that at the start. They say ‘yes there’s a side effect of uterine cancer however the ability of this drug to help prevent recurrence of breast cancer is far greater than the risk of you getting uterine cancer,” Irene said.
Doctors told Irene to inform them immediately if she noticed any side effects from the medication, including any unusual bleeding.
Irene experienced side effects and alerted doctors who rushed her to undergo an ultrasound.
Devastatingly, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer in January this year.
“As soon as I discovered [the side effects] and told my doctors, they moved really quickly…and they caught it early before it could spread,” Irene said.
“You’d probably call me the luckiest unlucky person to cop cancer twice before the age of 50, but at the same time, both times, they were able to catch it early. The treatment I had was preventative in both cases, it wasn’t curative.”
Irene said that listening to doctors and following their instructions helped to detect the uterine cancer quickly.
She then underwent aggressive treatment to combat the disease.
“This time around I wasn’t as lucky with the scalp cooling. It didn’t work as effectively so I’ve lost a lot of hair on the crown of my head,” Irene said.
“Mentally I was okay going through the treatment up until the point where I lost all that hair, because I looked different. I didn’t feel confident about who I saw in the mirror and obviously that affected me a lot.”
Irene recently finished treatment for uterine cancer.
“As far as I know there’s not one trace of disease in my body at the moment,” she said.
She has not had a breast cancer recurrence for eight years now and has mammograms annually.
She also gets checkups every three months for signs of uterine cancer.
“I’m trying to stay positive. I’ve done everything the hospital has told me to do… just to give myself the best chance of this thing never ever coming back again.”
Irene’s family celebrated her 50th birthday with her this month.
“I’m so grateful to be alive. I’m so grateful to be here,” she said.
“A lot of people say ‘I can’t believe how strong you are’ and I don’t believe it, but then when I think back… I’m absolutely strong. I really can’t believe how I went through it all.
“If there’s one message for women, it’s just to be so vigilant about changes in your body. If there’s something that’s not right just go and get it checked. You’re better off wasting everybody’s time and getting all these scans for nothing than not doing anything and letting this thing fester.”
