In 2018, Helen King was diagnosed with HER2 + breast cancer. She was 37 years old and had no family history. Everything happened quickly once she was diagnosed. Two weeks later, after a biopsy, she had her right breast removed and 24 lymph nodes removed. Then she endured 18 months of treatment. Cancer has had a profound impact on her life.

• 02:31: I just found a lump in my breast by chance in the shower and it was the day before I was starting a new job.
• 04:33: They can't confirm cancer until they have those biopsy results.
• 06:01: Did they give you any options about the mastectomy?
• 09:16: I just think it would have been a much easier option in a lot of ways, to not have either breast.
• 10:50: I had a mastectomy, fertility treatment, and then went straight into chemotherapy.
• 14:51: I guess when you when people have had cancer, they'll understand that everything comes down to percentages.
• 16:34: I think the hardest time in my experience is afterward.
• 18:10: You are not alone and there's just not enough for survivors.
• 20:31: I don't think people realize just how much a cancer diagnosis impacts you.
• 22:54: I was put into menopause during my treatment.
• 24:32: How does it feel knowing your mammogram is coming up?
• 25:59: What was your best moment in every all of this?
• 27:26: What is the one thing you wish you had known at the beginning of your cancer journey?
• 27:52: If you could only do one thing to improve health care in New Zealand would it be and why?
• 29:17: Because of the way that things are funded, we just don't have the same access to the drugs that you guys have.
• 30:13: Are you ready for the Thriver Rapid Fire questions?
• 31:55: Aside from Cancer U, what is one resource you would recommend for cancer patients and caregivers?

Resources

• The C-Word — Kiwis Talk About Cancer
• C-Word Radio
• Email Helen at [email protected]