For as long as Angela Pershouse can remember she had been getting ultrasounds on her breasts a couple of times a year, with sonographers commenting on how ‘busy’ the inside of them were.
What they meant was the 40-year-old from Brisbane had plenty of normal ‘lumps’ in her breast – called fibrocystic – so she didn’t think twice about discovering a new bump in May 2018.
‘Other than that lump, which didn’t hurt or bother me at all, there were no other signs anything was wrong,’ she told FEMAIL.
For as long as Angela Pershouse (pictured) can remember she’d been getting ultrasounds on her breasts a couple of times a year
Angela (right) visited her GP a few weeks after discovering it and they suggested waiting until her next period to see if there were any changes, then she could visit the breast health clinic
Angela visited her GP a few weeks after discovering it and they suggested waiting until her next period to see if there were any changes, then she could visit the breast health clinic.
‘At that stage I was 38 and the government didn’t and still doesn’t offer free screening for women under the age of 40,’ she said.
‘I was always annoyed at the costs involved but had come to terms with that years earlier and there was no way I was going to take any risks no matter how much out of pocket it cost me.’
After her period came and went – with no change to the lump – Angela booked in for an ultrasound on June 20, 2018. For the first time in years she decided to go alone.
After her period came and went – with no change to the lump – Angela booked in for an ultrasound on June 20, 2018. For the first time in years she decided to go alone
Two hours, a mammogram and a core biopsy later and Angela was delivered the verdict on those inflamed lumps
The appointment started like all others had in the past.
She lay on the bed, made small talk with the sonographer and she made comments about her ‘busy breasts’.
‘Then with a look on her face that didn’t look all that assuring she asked a question I hadn’t been asked before,’ Angela said.
“‘Have you been unwell lately?” “No, why?” “Oh nothing, it’s just your lymph nodes are a little inflamed. I’ll just go and get the doctor and he can have a look.”‘
Two hours, a mammogram and a core biopsy later and Angela was delivered the verdict on those inflamed lumps.
‘The doctor said I had breast cancer. I told him he had to be f***ing kidding me,’ she said
The fit and typically healthy 40-year-old was diagnosed with stage three locally advanced breast cancer
‘The doctor said I had breast cancer. I told him he had to be f***ing kidding me. My mum was just diagnosed with terminal cancer last week and given three to six months to live, my husband just signed our divorce papers two weeks ago and now this,’ she said.
The fit and typically healthy 40-year-old was diagnosed with stage three locally advanced breast cancer.
This type of breast cancer feeds off hormones so she was immediately put into medically induced menopause. Overnight her chances of having children were gone.
Angela had 16 rounds of chemotherapy over five ‘very long’ months, followed by surgery and 30 sessions of daily radiation.
Angela had 16 rounds of chemotherapy over five ‘very long’ months, followed by surgery and 30 sessions of daily radiation
At the end of the grueling treatment she was told her body had a complete pathological response, meaning the combination of drugs and drips had worked
At the end of the grueling treatment she was told her body had a complete pathological response, meaning the combination of drugs and drips had worked.
Angela received the ‘all clear’ seven months ago and again in November 2019, but eight weeks ago started to feel as though something wasn’t right with her stomach.
There was a hard lump at the top of her abdomen.
‘I was immediately sent for an ultrasound and mammogram and was once again cleared,’ she said.
Angela received the ‘all clear’ seven months ago and again in November 2019, but eight weeks ago started to feel as though something wasn’t right with her stomach
‘They said the lump was nothing to worry about and possibly some fatty tissue caused by the high doses of steroids I had been taking for the radiation pneumonitis (inflammation in the lungs) caused by the radiation.’
Three days after being reassured Angela visited a lung specialist she had been seeing for the pneumonitis and had a CT scan done.
By chance that scan caught the top of her liver and revealed spots that shouldn’t be there.
‘When you hear the words stage four terminal breast cancer and told there are no further treatment options available, shock and disbelief don’t begin to describe how helpless I felt,’ she said.
‘To be told there was nothing I or anyone else could do to change the inevitable outcome, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
‘To be told there was nothing I or anyone else could do to change the inevitable outcome, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it,’ she said
‘I had only just watched this same disease slowly, cruelly and painfully take my mum last year and to be told that this too was going to be my same fate was too much to process.’
Angela was told she had between six and 24 months left on the clock and should go home to start writing a bucket list.
‘With my signed super in my hand I was sent home to die,’ she said.
In her mind there were two options: She could spend whatever time left living her ‘best life’ or she could investigate what other medical treatments were available.
‘I met up with a girlfriend on the Gold Coast who had been given a terminal diagnosis last year and also sent home to die,’ she said.
Angela went to Mexico for three-weeks worth of alternative treatments
‘She had great success healing herself with a lot of hard work along with the help of some local integrative doctors and a clinic in Mexico called Hope4Cancer.’
Angela decided to follow suit and four weeks later found herself in Cancun.
Treatment costs aren’t cheap – with a $75,000 fee expected for a three week stay – but in her mind she didn’t have a choice.
‘I needed to know I was giving myself every opportunity to fight this. I’m not ready to die just yet,’ she said.
It’s not known yet whether the treatments have been a success but Angela is positive that doing something is better than doing nothing at all.
You can follow her journey and learn more on her Instagram page, Living Courageously Curious.
You can also donate to her GoFundMe page here.