‘ISRAELI HEALTH CARE HAS HELPED ME OVERCOME DISEASE TWICE’
Israeli dancer and choreographer Eylon Nuphar was 33 when she felt a lump the size of a pencil tip in her breast.
Her doctor assured her it was nothing to worry about and advised her to continue with work plans to travel to Argentina.
But she began having dreams about her hair falling out and ants crawling over her body. When she returned to Israel, she visited her doctor again.
“We discovered it was triple-negative cancer that had travelled to the lymph nodes,” said Ms Nuphar, now 50.
Triple-negative breast cancer is usually a more aggressive type of breast cancer and can be harder to treat.
“It was based on my intuition. I felt fine, I felt great – but my body was telling me there was something strange going on,” Ms Nuphar said.
“So, my first message would be to always listen to your instincts.”
She had a lumpectomy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The cancer went into remission. But 16 years later she was diagnosed with breast cancer again.
This time she chose not to have chemotherapy because research showed it would be less effective and could produce harsher side effects a second time around.
Instead, Ms Nuphar chose to have a double mastectomy and rejected the offer of breast reconstruction surgery.
When she compares her experience with that of friends and family members in the US, who did not receive access to adequate health care when they needed it, Ms Nuphar says the healthcare system in Israel has made her feel “safe”.
“I am very appreciative of being able to use the system when I needed it,” she said.
But she believes life in Israel is stressful and could be contributing to the high incidence of cancer.
More than 4,300 women in Israel had cancer diagnosed last year.
Ms Nuphar is passionate about raising awareness of breast cancer.
Last year, she posed for a magazine cover wearing a pink trouser suit baring her scarred and flat chest.
She wanted the world to see that there is more than one way for breast cancer survivors to look.
The prospect of having seven or eight further operations to rebuild her breasts struck Ms Nuphar as “insane”.
“I don’t need my breasts in order to feel beautiful,” she said.
Globally, 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer last year and 685,000 died.
Early detection can save lives. “Every woman should be able to be checked for breast cancer because it’s such a huge phenomenon,” said Ms Nuphar. “Every woman should be able to do that. It should be as basic as water and food.”