Give hope this Daffodil Day

Every year Cancer Council’s most iconic and much-loved fundraising campaign, Daffodil Day, provides hope for people impacted by cancer. By supporting Daffodil Day this August, you can show your support for people who have been impacted by cancer.

When Jo felt a lump in her breast over Christmas in 2022, she knew there was something wrong. She’d had benign lumps removed in the past, but this time it was different.

“About six years ago I had a fibroadenoma on my right breast. It was just a benign lump, but we had to take it out because it was just growing in mass,” Jo said.

The fact that she was 46 – the same age as her mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer – was a coincidence Jo couldn’t ignore, so when a biopsy confirmed two malignant tumours in her left breast and a benign tumour in her right, Jo was quickly scheduled for a double mastectomy.

Jo’s surgery took place on the anniversary of her mother’s passing from breast cancer. Diagnosed at 46, Jo’s mother underwent the best care available at the time but eventually passed away at the age of 52.

“That was like 18-20 years ago. So, she was under 50 where it's quite aggressive and not a lot of options were there for her. I mean the things that I went through right now wasn't available then.”

The urgency and speed with which Jo progressed from identification, to diagnosis, to surgery meant she was running on sheer adrenaline. She didn’t have the chance to fully process what her body was going through.

“It hit me after a while that even though I was joking around with my breasts being so flat, I was still sad that it was not me anymore, and to see it, to see myself afterwards it was like I couldn't reconcile that that was me in the mirror,” Jo said.

After surgery, Jo underwent further tests on her lymph nodes and discussed additional treatment with her oncologist.

Jo is now focused on prevention, not only for herself, but also for her sisters and family. She has undergone genetic testing to identify if she carries the 12 mutated genes linked to breast cancer. By providing her family with as much insight as possible, they can make informed decisions about their own health.

“One in seven women are getting diagnosed. This is real. Especially for women who are under 50, like me, for whom this cancer can be so aggressive. All these things are available that women can arm themselves with to give them a better chance of survival, because that's what we want isn’t it? For everybody to survive.”

The advances in diagnosis, treatment, and care that Jo experienced in contrast to her mother, has shown the positive impact of ongoing support for cancer research into the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer – research that is funded by your kind support of events like Daffodil Day. Five-year survival rates for breast cancer have increased to 92 per cent from 73 per cent twenty years ago, which is an incredible improvement. But there is still more to do.

“I can't stress enough how grateful I am that your generosity is definitely making a difference to cancer patients, cancer survivors,” Jo said.

“I cannot put it into words that, yes, I have family and friends that support me, but the tools out there for us that were never available before with my mum are now here for me. The experience I went through is so much better than my mum's and my whole family. We needed this back then when we felt really alone. But now it's supported by society. So thank you.”

We know that 1 in 2 Victorians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85, so it takes all of us to give hope for better treatments and better health outcomes. The more hope we give, the more lives we can save. That’s why we’re encouraging you to give it your all this Daffodil Day.

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