Breast cancer journey comes full circle

The Crawford/Leach whanau have been on a breast cancer journey for over 30 years and want to share their knowledge to help other whanau. From left, Tania Whakataka, Jasmine Leach and Lena Leach. Picture by Shaan Te Kani

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This month is Pink Ribbon breast cancer awareness month. Reporter Shaan Te Kani gets up close and personal with an East Coast whanau who have been on a heartbreaking, yet resilient breast cancer journey for over 30 years. Now they want to share their experiences to help others.

Black and yellow are among Jasmine Leach’s favourite colours, which is usually the case when you come from Whangara.

They are the home colours of the Paikea Whalers rugby league team and Whangara mai Tawhiti kapa haka.

But pink is also a significant colour to the Whangara wahine toa, mother and breast cancer survivor.

Pink is associated with breast cancer awareness, and yesterday Jasmine hosted a Pink Ribbon breakfast fundraiser at her mahi at the Whirikoka campus of Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

The event represented another step in a journey that Jasmine and her whanau have been on for over 30 years.

“This is a good way for our whanau to give back,” she says. “Our breast cancer journey has been a long one, since 1987.

Four of my mother’s sisters have passed away from breast cancer since that time. They are the Crawford whanau from Mangatuna.

“In 1987 we lost my Aunty Jackie Baker, and then in 2003 within a space of three months we lost my aunties Cynthia Pardoe and Matekino Crawford. Then in 2014 my aunty Audrey Matete passed away.

“My mum, Lena Leach, and her younger sister, my Aunty Tania Whakataka, cared for all of their sisters during their sickness, and they have seen the shift in treatment and the shift in whakaaro (thinking) over the years.

“Then in 2016 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, so as a whanau we have a long association with cancer.

“When I got my news, I thought, ‘oh my gosh I’m going to die’, because that’s all we knew of and had experienced.

“I had been diagnosed with grade 3 cancer. Grade 4 is terminal.”

In the background, Jasmine’s father Hemi Leach was going through his own cancer battle. He had been diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2005.

“My dad went through the full treatment process of chemo and radiation. My aunties had been through some treatment but when it got to a certain point they decided to move to alternative methods.

“I saw that my dad went ‘hard-out’, and when I was diagnosed that gave me an insight into the possibilities of what could happen, because he was still here with us. So I decided I would take the same approach.

“Usually when people are diagnosed with cancer, you think, ‘why me?’. But for us, it was, ‘why us?’

Decision set tone for journey forward“When I look back I realised that what my family had been through was actually preparing me for this moment in time.”

After the initial shock, Jasmine realised she needed to make a decision, a vital one that would set the tone for her journey forward.

“I decided that I didn’t want to die yet. I wanted to live. I think that was one of the most important things that I had to do.

“You’ve got to make that choice, and I wanted to make a good shot of this because I really wanted to live.

“Once I made up my mind, I thought ‘so how can I live?’ I had to educate myself, find out the who, what, when, where, why and how.

“That mindset set the precedent of how I would get through this. I decided that I would be like my dad and go through the full treatment process from start to finish — chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.”

The news of Jasmine’s diagnosis was heartbreaking for her whanau, in particular, her mother and aunty.

“It brought everything back,” said Aunty Tania Whakataka.

“We had seen our sisters come home from surgery like a piece of raw meat left to suffer.

“Things were very different back then. We had no idea of what was going on, there was not the amount of information there is today.

“They would do surgery and then send them home to die. There wasn’t much support for post care. It was a horrible journey for our sisters.”

The hardest thing for Jasmine was breaking the news to her children, and her strength and determination was necessary for this moment.

“I thought, my children will take this news in the way that I am going to deliver it to them. I orchestrated it. I was staunch. No tears. I told them them the plan and of course they were devastated. They were young when my aunties passed, so they have been on this journey their whole lives as well.

“Their first reaction was to come home and look after me. I said no. I had it all planned out and said that I only expected them to come home on a regular basis.”

Jasmine had a comprehensive treatment plan, which she says was a far cry from the days of when her aunties were having treatment.

“Now there are more options for cancer patients. I could tailor my options to how I wanted it to be. When my doctor laid it out to me, it was like a menu. I had already made my mind up that I would go through with the tried and true options.

“I wanted to control every part of that process, which was very important to me, because when you have cancer things start to become out of your control. That was my default setting to cope.

“These days you are able to self manage your treatment a lot more, you can go between the public and private health sectors to suit you.”

It is information like this that Jasmine says needs to be shared with the public, and particularly with Maori whanau.

“When it comes to cancer, or health in general, a lot of our Maori people shy away.

“Many of them don’t know where to go or how to get help. And wahine Maori especially, will usually feel more comfortable having someone who is also Maori deal with them. Especially when it comes to their body and in this case, their breasts.

“Our aim as a whanau is to pay it forward and open up a support group for whanau, with any form of cancer. We want to share practical information, the things like knowing how to prepare for surgery, having a job-share caregiver roster for whanau.

“These types of things will help to alleviate stress for whanau, because if anything, cancer loves stress. It feeds off it. When your life starts spiralling you need some of these things to anchor you.

“I have been fortunate in my journey that I have had great whanau support, especially from my mum and my aunty. With whanau, comes our Maori way of thinking — being there for one another, and our spirituality.

“When I was about to go for my first installment of treatment, I went to my pa (Whangara Marae) and visited my whanau in our urupa (cemetery). Our kaumatua, the late Uncle Hone Taumaunu, had heard I was going for treatment and asked me to go see him before I left, so he could have a karakia with me.

“That was important because even though I had this mindset that I wanted to live, I knew where I would go and who would be there, if things didn’t happen as I hoped.

“But a positive mindset, a pro-active approach, information, and a willingness to stick it out to the end has also been key.

“There are some days that are about how staunch and how tough you are. So we want to awhi (support) other people and provide a safe place for them to be able to share their experiences and gain practical knowledge.”

The most important piece of advice that the Crawford and Leach whanau have is to always go for regular medical check-ups.

“We are always encouraging our whanau and friends to get checked. Even if you have had a mammogram and you’re still in doubt, go see your doctor.

“That is what happened to me. I had a mammogram that was all clear three months prior to noticing a lump.

“And when I found it, I went to my doctor. Because of our family history we don’t take those things lightly.

“If you are in doubt and have a history of cancer or breast cancer in your whanau, have a mammogram and check with your doctor.

“I’m well now. I’m really well. But don’t ever take anything for granted. I’m in remission so I will always need to keep a regular check on it.

“This journey will always be a part of our whanau, and we want to share what we have to help others.”