Good afternoon. Bonjour. Aaniin.
Madam Chair, vice-chairs, committee members, fellow witnesses and guests, my name is Kimberley Wahamaa-Deschenes and I'm from Sudbury, Ontario. I'm here today not only as a witness for the study of breast cancer screening for women age 40 and over, but as a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed at the age of 47, when mammograms were recommended for those 50 plus.
On April Fool's Day in 2013, I found a lump the size of a ping-pong ball on my left breast. It was no joke. In May, I had a biopsy. In June, I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. In July, I had a lumpectomy. From October to December, I received four chemotherapy treatments. My hair started falling out 12 days after my first chemo treatment. I literally pulled out and shaved the rest of my hair. I started my radiation therapy in January 2014, and finished 30 radiation sessions by the end of February.
Eleven years ago, with 11 months of treatment, under the age of 50 and with no family history of breast cancer, my life changed forever. I asked myself, “Will I survive this diagnosis? What can I do?”
First, I purchased my family tombstone and plot and put my name on it with a cancer ribbon, because who knows? I worked throughout my treatments. I was an events manager. I couldn't afford not to be and I had events to run. I created the Trust Your Bust fund through the Northeast Cancer Centre and raised over $18,000 by producing awareness events, such as a high tea, a Halloween party, a pink-labelled beer and a skate with my pink wig and my Trust Your Bust jersey at a Sudbury Wolves game, to name a few things. Funds went to breast cancer research, awareness and families in need.
I did some local research and found that many women in my community had developed breast cancer under the age of 50. I invited 12 women and one man—as 1% of men will develop breast cancer—to share their story in my “Calendar of Hope”. I sent a copy of my calendar to the minister of health at the time, the Honourable Deb Matthews, asking why mammograms were only given after the age of 50.
With no response, I continued my advocacy. Through my “Trust Your Bust” fund, I helped a young woman, Janicka Faye, who was diagnosed with breast cancer on her 27th birthday. She started a journal, entitled “Fight to 28”. She reached her 28th birthday but later passed away, leaving three young girls, a husband, her parents and her siblings behind. She died at the age of 28—not 40 and not 50. I can't imagine losing a child at the age of 28. When my son turned 28 two years ago, I thought about us and Janicka Faye and her family.
I presented my raw story as a survivor to high school students and women's groups and was asked to present at NOSM University to first- and second-year learners. My presentation is now part of the NOSMU curriculum, showing a patient's perspective for the first time. The students came up to me crying and thanking me for my story of the good, the bad and the ugly so that they could be more prepared as they become doctors.
We've come a long way in education, research, treatment and screening for breast cancer. Early detection is key. Many women with dense breasts avoid mammograms, so companies like Radialis in Thunder Bay have developed a non-invasive PET screening process for breast cancer patients, and Rna Diagnostics in Sudbury has developed a technology that will lighten the treatments of breast cancer. Imagine if I had only had to have two chemo treatments instead of four. The harsh impact of side effects would have been minimal.
Had I not trusted my bust at the age of 47, I might not be here today. I celebrated my 59th birthday last week.
My question to all of you is this: Why should there be a minimum age barrier for mammogram testing? Wouldn't more lives be saved if the test was made available to people regardless of age? What if the focus, instead, was on providing more education to increase awareness, self-examinations and early testing?
In my courage, strength and hope, I believe that removing the age barrier from mammogram testing and breast screening would result in early detection. Thus, more lives would be saved.
Thank you. Meegwetch.