Inspirational is the word that best describes two women featured in the past week in this newspaper.
Not only were breast cancer sufferers Leanne Smith and Melissa Bell brave to share their stories in such a public forum, but they have also been courageous in the way in which they have been dealing with their illnesses.
Mrs Smith (41) was diagnosed with an aggressive inflammatory breast cancer two years ago. She underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy, five weeks of radiation and a double mastectomy, but at the beginning of this year it was discovered she had secondary breast cancer and lung cancer, and she now has weeks to live.
Despite being on oxygen full-time and involved in end-of-life tasks such as planning her funeral, she is determined to remain active and positive, getting up at 6am each day, making lists of things she wants to do, keeping busy and spending quality time with friends and family.
Ms Bell (also 41), the principal of Dunedin's St Hilda's Collegiate School, has used her experience to provide a ''life lesson'' for her pupils, sharing details of her illness, treatment and emotions, since she was diagnosed with a life-threatening and aggressive form of breast cancer in March. She is clearly a role model for her pupils, although she said she never sought to be that, but wanted to equip them with the tools to deal with breast cancer if they experience it.
Ms Bell has undergone surgery, 12 rounds of chemotherapy and half of her five-week radiation treatment. Her long-term prognosis is uncertain but her attitude is anything but; she remains steadfastly ''positive''.
Support from and time with family and friends has clearly been the key for both women. Mrs Smith said: ''We don't cry, we laugh ... we've probably never laughed so much as a family. We don't take it lightly but it's not all doom and gloom. We have to make the most of every single day and that's what I've done.''
Ms Bell said returning to school felt like ''coming home to my second family'' and pupils, staff and the school community had given her strength: ''In a situation like this, you could feel quite alone, but through all of this, I haven't felt alone at any time.''
The stories of both women also show the importance of ''early detection'', widely billed as the ''best protection'' against breast cancer. Mrs Smith said in hindsight she should have seen her doctor earlier, waiting six weeks from noticing changes before doing so. Ms Bell's cancer was also advanced by the time she was diagnosed.
Given this, the news this week the Southern District Health Board will relinquish its breast-screening and assessment service contract when it expires at the end of June next year is a blow for Otago and Southland women, the capable and dedicated staff involved, and a doubly cruel one to be delivered during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the Ministry of Health, breast cancer is New Zealand's third most common cancer and accounts for more than 600 deaths every year. BreastScreen Aotearoa is New Zealand's free national breast screening programme for women between 45 and 69. It is not clear from the DHB's final decision document what service might be available for Otago and Southland women, but partnerships with other Southern radiology groups seem to have been ruled out.
Questions remain over where and how any service will be delivered. It seems likely more mobile screening units will be used, for surely women will not be expected to travel to another centre for routine screening. There are also fears about the impact on the much smaller diagnostic mammography part of the service, although the DHB says it will explore options for continuing it.
It is certainly to be hoped a solution can be found to this latest health crisis. And while hope alone is clearly not enough when it comes to combating such a pervasive disease as breast cancer, sometimes a positive attitude is all that is left in our control. On that basis, we can all take a leaf from the books of women like Mrs Smith and Ms Bell. For none of us can know what the future holds, but we can choose how to approach each and every day.
