By Danielle Kutchel
A two-time breast cancer survivor from Berwick was among almost 500 people who took a walk to raise funds to fight the disease last month.
Sharon McLean, a homeowner in the independent living community of Berwick Waters Lifestyle Community, raised over $900 for the cause and walked four kilometres in the Mother’s Day Classic in May.
Ms McLean said the “personal aspect” of having survived breast cancer herself – and watching her daughter-in-law, Hayley, also battle and survive the beast – motivated her to sign up for the walk again.
“For me, I feel like I’m doing something to help get more information out there,” she explained.
She said she felt proud of herself for being able to walk that far, and proud of everyone in the village who supported her along the way.
Ms McLean trained regularly for the event, walking around the Lifestyle Village she lives in every morning for around half an hour.
She said walking with her good friend Wendy every day helped her to keep up the training too.
The day of the Mother’s Day Classic itself was “really good”, she said, filled with people dressed to raise awareness of the cause.
Ms McLean’s first cancer diagnosis came in 2009, just four days after the birth of her grandson.
“That was really horrible,” she said.
She had noticed a rippling pattern on her breast, and when she touched it, found a lump.
Ms McLean went straight to the doctor and was soon undergoing treatment for the cancer.
She went through chemotherapy, surgery to remove the lump and some lymph nodes and then six weeks of radiotherapy.
Her family and close friend Maria stuck with her throughout and Sharon made it to the other side.
But in 2018, another lump was found in her lymph node under the same arm that had been previously affected.
She underwent another 12 months of treatment and said she has come out the other side now and is feeling well.
She has an important message for people of any age: check your breasts regularly, both by looking at them in the mirror and feeling them, and book in for mammograms and ultrasounds when necessary.
In Ms McLean’s case, these actions meant she was able to catch her cancer in time for treatment and be here to share her story.
