Journey: Experiences with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in Australian women. According to the Australian Government website, by 2015, the number of new breast cancer cases among women is projected to be 22% higher than in 2006, with an estimated 15,409 women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Further, the risk of breast cancer increases in age. One in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 85, with the average age of the first diagnose being sixty. Men aren’t immune either. The number of men diagnosed with breast cancer in Australian jumped from 62 in 1982 to 103 in 2007. Journey is a collection of people’s experiences with breast cancer, whether they’ve gone through breast cancer themselves, or loved or cared for somebody who has. Journey offers real-life accounts of people’s experiences with breast cancer. It’s hoped that through sharing experiences others might gain insights or assurance that will help them through what they’re facing. After all, there is strength in sharing, and through community. Journey hopes to provide a network of information which will be invaluable to readers. The content includes nonfiction accounts, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Stories vary in content. Some explore the whole gamut of the experience - from diagnosis to treatment. Others look at specific moments of coping, ranging from dealing with surgery to dealing with hair loss. Others deal with more spiritual and esoteric issues, such as rediscovery - if not reinvention - of self.