Global BC reporter and producer, Julie Nolin, always felt like she was on top of her health.
But in December she discovered two lumps as a result of Periductal mastitis.
“For a lot of women, they know what mastitis is, it’s a breast infection,” Nolin said.
“Usually you get it in nursing, but I had it much, much later. It showed up in December and I went into my doctor in January. He gave me the requisition to get a mammogram ultrasound. It took five more months essentially to get in to see what was going on, another five weeks for the biopsy. So, in early July, I found out that I was indeed positive for breast cancer.”
Nolin said she is frustrated the process took that long.
“I’m hoping that there will be some changes that come as a result of my story,” she said. “I’m not alone. I’m not unique. There are a lot of delays right now because of staffing shortages and how the system isn’t getting people in for diagnostics quickly enough.
“Hopefully in my case, we got it soon enough.”
Nolin has an aggressive form of breast cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma.
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However, the good news is it responds well to treatment. Nolin started chemotherapy in mid-August and is already halfway through.
She is focused on staying positive however and continuing to come to work when she can.
“I know my colleagues and friends think I’m crazy, even my family,” she said. “But my oncologist said, ‘I want you to stay working as long as you can’. So, I’m not just sitting at home watching Netflix. I’m actually challenging myself. I am struggling with chemo brain. I can manage the fatigue and the nausea that comes with chemotherapy, and I’m on the red devil protocol. Some people know that is a very, very strong chemo drug.”
The red devil chemo is the drug doxorubicin, named for its red colour and its potentially strong side effects. It is considered one of the most powerful chemotherapy options for a wide range of cancers.
Nolin is also trying to have fun with wearing different wigs and creating different looks.
“I had never looked at wigs before,” she said. “And, you know, to be able to learn about wigs and the community out there, the women who have alopecia and other hair-thinning issues. I’m just learning so much and I get to be blonde.”
Nolin will be reporting Friday about the challenges women with dense breasts face in trying to obtain cancer diagnoses.
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