One day, I felt a fairly large lump in my right breast. As I had a family history of cancer in my family, I decided to have a breast ultrasound. The doctor found that it was stage 3 breast cancer. I’ve also had quite a few other symptoms affecting my breast, including:

• Changes in breast size/shape
• Irritation of breast skin
• Nipple discharge
• Redness
• Swelling
• Occasional pain

I felt neutral.

I didn’t change my lifestyle much.

My doctors recommended chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy, which I’m still taking. Though I did look for second opinions and alternative treatments, I felt quite positive after deciding on it. I was relieved, motivated and hopeful. I also did some alternative treatments (e.g. traditional Chinese medicine), though funding them was difficult for me.

I’ve tried a few treatments, including:

• Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
• Paclitaxel (Taxol)
• Docetaxel (Taxotere)
• Albumin-bound paclitaxel (Abraxane)
• 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or capecitabine (Xeloda)
• Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)
• Platinum agents (Cisplatin, carboplatin)
• Capecitabine (Xeloda)
• Gemcitabine (Gemzar)
• Antibody drug conjugates
• Letrozole
• Abemaciclib

In terms of side effects, the ones that affected me the most were: fatigue, hair loss, and hand and foot syndrome. I didn’t do much to manage them.

I didn’t do much, I was mostly focused on coping with the stress of financial challenges due to the alternative treatments I have undergone. I spent as much time as I used to with my kids, and I had more intimate time with my partner. We still go often on trips as a family every year.

For my family and I, we plan to focus on travel, moving house, and our business. I don't focus on the results, I really care about enjoying my life, living as well as possible, regardless of the test results. My biggest dream is to see my daughter succeed in everything she sets her mind to, and for her to be financially stable.

It’s that at some point I may suffer pain. To avoid it, I’ve gone through many therapies.

Now, I feel neutral.

To others, I would say: “Do not despair, do not be afraid of death because you are told that you have cancer, we are all going to die and the word cancer has really been demonised, people also die of flu....

There are days that are not easy as in any other part of life, but always keep in mind that nothing is going to happen to us before or after when it should happen. So, in the meantime, continue to enjoy every moment, realise that we don’t have to fight against anything, nor are we warriors, these are simply moments of life, journeys of the soul that each one of us will experience. We have to thank cancer because it comes to teach us, to rescue us and to teach us to live in a calmer way, without fights, without wars. It teaches us to live realising that each microsecond is a miracle and that there is always, always something more powerful that guides us.”