Rosebud resident, Sue Rowe, knows just how much The Bays Cancer Care Centre will mean for cancer patients on the Peninsula, after recently completing treatment for stage 3 breast and node cancer.
At age 57, Sue went for a routine mammogram in February 2023 that led to a biopsy of her breast and under her arm.
“Being sent for a biopsy should have set off alarm bells in my mind but I wasn’t overly concerned because a girlfriend had a call back for the same thing and it was nothing,” explained Sue.
“I came back the following week with my closest friend and my 25-year-old son. The surgeon sat us down and told me I had stage 3 breast and node cancer. I was in disbelief because I felt well.”
The surgeon then contacted Sue’s GP, who immediately referred her to Bays breast surgeon, Dr Tristan Leech. Tristan explained she’d need chemotherapy, followed by surgery, and then radiation therapy.
“The thought of chemo at that point was just inconceivable. My hair is part of my self-confidence. Losing it would be life changing,” Sue shared.
Tristan then referred Sue to oncologist Zee Wan Wong, who she described as amazing, nurturing and caring.
Before Sue started chemotherapy, she decided to use a scalp cooling cap to minimise her hair loss.
“Had I have gone to a public hospital, I wouldn’t have had access to that. I’m very lucky because that’s not a service that’s offered at every private hospital, or in the public system,” Sue explained.
“After my Day Infusion Unit induction with nurse Marnie at The Bays, I felt very overwhelmed but also very comfortable with the whole process. When I went back and had my first chemo treatment, I wasn’t really concerned because the nurses made me feel so at ease – and I knew that one of my nurses had been through the same thing herself.”
“The cancer nurses at The Bays are just amazing. What I love is that they don’t treat you like you’re sick – you’re just in there going through a process, getting over a hurdle. But at the same time they’re very nurturing and concerned for your health.”
Sue described the side effects of chemotherapy as horrific.
“It was a very hard experience, but not a scary one because of where I had my treatment. I think if I had been in a public hospital, it might have been different but going into The Bays was so comforting,” Sue recalled.
Three months into chemotherapy, Zee Wan ran some routine heart scans, which showed that Sue had heart function issues as a result of the treatment, and decided not to proceed with further chemotherapy.
“After treatment to restore my heart function, I went straight into surgery at that point. I was very lucky that I only needed a partial sentinel node biopsy, and just the 5cm lump was removed from my breast,” Sue explained.
“Tristan Leech is the most amazing surgeon – you’d never know looking at my breasts that I’ve had reconstructive surgery. There’s not even a scar because he operated through the nipple, it’s incredible!”
“Then came 3 weeks of daily radiation, which wasn’t pleasant. I had to drive to Frankston for it, which meant travelling 40 minutes each way from Rosebud. And it felt like a cattle call at that hospital – I was just a number and never saw the same faces each time. Knowing what The Bays is like and the great experience I’d already had, I wish I could have had radiation therapy there too, it would have been a much better experience.”
“During radiation, I was returning to The Bays every 3 weeks anyway to have an anti-body infusion called Herceptin. I’ve created a lifetime bond with Marnie and Sue because they treated me for 14 months.
“Then there’s the other support that I got at The Bays from Rachel, the McGrath Breast Care Nurse. And the Look Good Feel Better workshop really, which made me feel good about myself.”
“I realised just how lucky I was because I went through cancer at the same time as Penny and Nancy too. When Penny and I went to a workshop we were the only ones with hair. None of them could believe we still had hair in the middle of chemo. I lost everything else, eyebrows and eyelashes. It felt like one day they were there and the next day they were gone. I didn’t miss not having hair from the neck down!” Sue joked.
Sue recently finished Herceptin treatment and said she feels good. She celebrated her end of treatment by sharing a bottle of 2008 Moet champagne with her children.
We wish her strength, hope and healing in this next chapter of her life.
While our Cancer Care Centre is on schedule for completion this August, we require more funding to achieve the fit-out.
Please donate to our Cancer Care Centre today, and help us bring much needed radiation oncology treatment to our Peninsula.