"I found a lump purely by accident, scratching my boob. I wish I could say I was diligent and was checking, but I wasn't."
Our own Sarah Gandy never imagined she needed to look out for breast cancer signs at the age of 36.
"I just found it and went, ‘Oh, better go to the GP.’ And you know, spoiler alert: Turns out it was cancer."
It was at the end of 2018 that Sarah learned she had stage three breast cancer. It had gone into her lymph nodes, but because she found it early enough, there were still treatment options available to her.
"Suddenly I was going through chemo, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy... and I'm still on medication now."
"I think most people who have had breast cancer didn't really think that it was coming unless you’ve got a strong family history, you know."
According to the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, only 12% of women under the age of 45 can correctly name nine signs and symptoms of breast cancer. At the time of her diagnosis, Sarah only knew of one.
If you're not one of the eligible Kiwi women aged 45 to 69 years who receive free mammogram checks every two years, then Sarah firmly believes knowing those nine signs and symptoms "can actually save a life." Which is how the Change & Check campaign started:
The Change and Check stickers, which you can pick up from a local More FM office or download to print out here, make it easy to educate women on the nine signs to look out for.
"What we want is to get them out in as many changing rooms and bathrooms - just anywhere where women have got just a minute to themselves so they can see them and think, 'Oh, actually, maybe I should get that checked."
More importantly, by simply sharing those signs with the women in your office, business or community means an earlier diagnosis for someone could save their life.
"It means I get to be here now, and do the show every day, and be with my amazing husband, and you know, I love my life."
