Former Olympian Jane Flemming has opened up about her devastating cancer battle after undergoing a double mastectomy.
The 52-year-old star track athlete spoke candidly about her ‘traumatic’ ordeal after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May this year.
Speaking to Woman’s Day, the Australian mother-of-two revealed how visit to her GP for a routine pap smear led to a shock diagnosis.
Former Olympian Jane Flemming (pictured with her husband Ian Purchas and their nine-year-old twin sons James and Samuel) has opened up about her devastating cancer battle
The 52-year-old star track athlete (pictured winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1990) spoke about her ‘traumatic’ ordeal after she was diagnosed with breast cancer
‘I had a couple of horrendous meltdowns at night in the dark lying there thinking. I’ve never felt so afraid or vulnerable,’ she told the magazine.
After complaining about her menopausal hot flushes keeping her awake at night, she was prescribed to a low dose of oestrogen and sent for a mammogram.
But the dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist said she was left reeling after receiving bad news that a lump was found in her left breast.
Ms Flemming – who has twin sons – said she managed to keep her emotions in check when she told her husband Ian Purchas about the diagnosis.
‘Ian got home later that night and it was fairly emotional but we were very much trying to keep our boys’ lives unaffected at this point,’ she said.
And eventually, she plucked up the courage to tell her nine-year-old twin boys James and Samuel.
The dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist said she was left reeling after receiving bad news that a lump was found in her left breast
The two-time Olympian said she decided to go under the knife for a double mastectomy because it would ‘give me the greatest chance of it never coming back’
Despite keeping her cancer battle secret, Ms Flemming said she decided to share her story in an effort to encourage other women to get mammograms
Following four gruelling surgeries, Ms Flemming said a five-centimetre tumour was removed from her breast – but what followed next was the ‘worst weeks of my life’.
The two-time Olympian said she decided to go under the knife for a double mastectomy because it would ‘give me the greatest chance of it never coming back’.
And on July 31, Ms Flemming was given the all-clear.
‘I do feel like I’ve got my life back again,’ she said.
Despite keeping her cancer battle secret, Ms Flemming said she decided to share her story in an effort to encourage other women to get mammograms.
‘If I’d left it even for three more months this wouldn’t have been a good story,’ she said.
She has been the National Breast Cancer Foundation ambassador for nearly 20 years.