Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Hamilton’s Trish Mitchell shares her journey

For two reasons, February 3, 2023 is a date forever etched in Trish Mitchell’s mind.

That day, her daughter was in labour with Mitchell’s first grandchild. But it was also the day Mitchell was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She was 63 years old and had already lost her father, mother and brother to different forms of the disease. Her sister had stage 4 melanoma.

“My dad died of cancer but his was found very late. My brother died of melanoma and at that point in time there wasn’t any real treatment for melanoma. My mum died during Covid of cancer as well.”

Mitchell said she was the first in her family to be diagnosed with breast cancer.

She wanted to share her journey through diagnosis and treatment as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“If my story can help somebody then I’m happy to tell it,” Mitchell said.

She said a change in her nipple was the first indication that something was wrong.

“It was a gut feeling. Something was telling me that I needed to go and get it seen to.”

Mitchell went to her doctor, who found the lump.

After a mammogram and ultrasound Mitchell received the biopsy results while her daughter was in labour.

The diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma. Surgery was scheduled for the following month.

“It was nice in a way,” Mitchell said, of the birth of her grandchild.

“Because it took the attention off what I was going through, although it did ruin it a little bit.”

Mitchell and her husband waited until their daughter and her family had settled back at home before sharing the news.

“It was pretty tough,” Mitchell said.

“It was such a happy time in their life and we had to tell them that.”

Mitchell said she never saw the cancer as a death sentence.

“I never was too afraid. I had to get it out and do what had to be done.”

After surgery, Mitchell went through radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

Trish Mitchell with her granddaughter Maisie. Photo / Supplied

The side effects of the hormone therapy were severe.

“That made me feel like I was 90 years old,” Mitchell said.

Despite trying three different hormonal tablets, Mitchell stopped the therapy after 10 months in favour of quality of life.

Now, more than 18 months after diagnosis, Mitchell is cancer-free.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that cancer can be a temporary condition. I had cancer. They took it out. I don’t have it anymore.”

Mitchell said staying positive and educating herself about her condition were key strategies in her resilience.

She also found human interaction was the best support.

“Take your time. Listen to your gut, to your instincts. Do your research.”

She supported efforts to research better alternatives to the hormone therapy treatments which caused severe side effects in her case.

“The other thing I’d like to see is a little bit more research done into lifestyle choices like diet and exercise and how past experiences and emotions can affect your body.”

Breast Cancer Research Trust senior oncology research nurse Jenni Scarlet.

Breast Cancer Research Trust senior oncology research nurse Jenni Scarlet said hormone blocker therapy was mostly used in the treatment of breast cancers but had the common side effect of joint aches.

“Some women experience really uncomfortable joint aches,” Scarlet said.

“Ideally, with research we keep fine-tuning treatment so that one day in a future world we have minimal or no side effects.”

Scarlet said the trust was about to embark on a clinical trial for a new hormone-blocking drug.

“When I started my nursing training 40 years ago there were only two options in terms of hormone-blocking treatments. Now there’s quite a range. There’s about 10 different choices,” Scarlet said.

“These days treatment and care is very much tailored to the type of cancer and the person.”

The Breast Cancer Research Trust was established in 2000 by a group of dedicated breast cancer specialist doctors and nurses at Te Whatu Ora Health NZ - Waikato, who wanted to make clinical trials possible and accessible to those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.