THEN: Diana — ‘It was just like a matter of fact’

Twenty-five years ago Diana Mcilwrick was told it was unlikely she would survive the next five years.

At just 36, the mum-of-two discovered a lump on one of her breasts. Less than a week later, after an invasive surgical biopsy, she was told it was advanced breast cancer.

At the time, treatment was limited. Her doctor told her, “bluntly” and without the support of her husband by her side, she had about a 5 per cent chance of living more than five years.

“The way he said it was so cold, it was just like a matter of fact. I couldn’t believe it. Not in a million years did I think it was cancer and suddenly I was preparing for my funeral,” Mcilwrick told the Herald.

But she refused to accept that was her fate — for her kids’ sake. “I couldn’t bear the thought of them having a new mum and not being there for them.”

She had one option — surgery to remove her breast and lymph nodes, then as much chemotherapy as she could handle before radiation covering her whole chest.

She had no tests to see if the cancer had spread beyond her breast and lymph nodes — her doctor “assumed it had” but “hoped for the best”.

Targeted treatment hadn’t been available and wouldn’t have been possible as doctors didn’t know the type of cancer they were dealing with.

The risk of developing heart and lung disease later in life was also high as there was little that could be done to protect the organs during radiation.

Funded breast reconstruction wasn’t available in the public hospital. Instead, she was offered “an uncomfortable sack” to put in her bra.

Looking back, Mcilwrick said she wished she had taken a photo of herself before the surgery. “It all happened too quickly.”

She had chemotherapy every three weeks for six months after the surgery.

“I’d be in hospital for four hours in the morning, then I’d come home and go to bed and virtually be vomiting for eight hours straight.

“I’d be really sick for about seven days and then just as I’d be coming right again it would start all over.”

Against the odds, it worked and she has been cancer-free ever since.

“Getting cancer gave me a new perspective. No longer was I worried about what might happen. For the first time, I really started living.

“One day my husband came home from work and said he’d been offered a job in India and I immediately said ‘let’s go’, so we did,” she said.

“I remember a friend saying my husband suggested we move to Auckland and freaked but after getting cancer I knew how short life was.”

Though she is grateful the treatment worked, Mcilwrick said she was one of the lucky ones.

These days, Mcilwrick’s chance of survival would be a lot a greater.

Her doctor would have had a clearer idea of how much her cancer had spread and she would likely have targeted treatment options.