Written By Go Vita
Sarajoy Ly was 32 years old, with not a single known risk factor for breast cancer when she was diagnosed with this insidious disease. Her remarkable journey demonstrates the need for continued support for breast cancer research.
Sarajoy first noticed one of her breasts was larger than the other after she finished breastfeeding her son, just after his first birthday. “I thought one of them was still full of milk and in fact, after the first two ultrasounds, I was treated for mastitis. I had no specific lump.” Her mum had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and Sarajoy was juggling helping her mum and so put off a few appointments. When she eventually saw the specialist just before Christmas 2016, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After four surgeries, 30 rounds of chemo and 25 sessions of radiotherapy, plus countless hospital visits, appointments, scans and tests, Sarajoy is philosophical about her journey, “I feel that I’m stronger now than I have ever been, both mentally and physically. I’ve met some amazing people who I know will be lifelong friends.”
Today Sarajoy is involved with the National Breast Cancer Foundation. She says “I am an outlier in all the statistics. I didn’t have a lump, I’d never smoked. I don’t drink. I am extremely healthy, fit and active. I breastfed, I don’t have the BRCA gene, so there was not a single known risk factor that applied to me. Yet I still got cancer. So I just feel with more research we can find out why this happens. It’s my wish for the future that everyone with any kind of breast cancer can have effective and affordable treatments.”
Sarajoy finished chemo in March 2018 and has no ongoing treatment, just regular checkups. The type of cancer she had has a high risk of recurrence. It’s her hope that she beats the odds and lives beyond seven years post-diagnosis. “I was always pretty health conscious before but even more so now, I use natural products, which is why I love Black Chicken Remedies product, have a plant-powered diet and train six times a week. So aside from my flat chest, I’m pretty much just a regular gal these days.”
Approximately eight people die from breast cancer in Australia every day. The National Breast Cancer Foundation is working towards zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030.
Black Chicken Remedies is proud to be supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation by donating $2 from every Axilla Deodorant Paste – More to Love Addition sold.
