When Mandy Forteath was diagnosed with breast cancer it took just seven days until she underwent a mastectomy.
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It was 2004, and she recalls looking in the mirror and thinking ‘why me?’
At the time there were no formalised support groups in Tasmania, but during her treatment Mrs Forteath met a number of other people battling the same disease.
While meetups began as informal gatherings, Mrs Forteath soon got the Breast Cancer Network Australia onboard.
Her efforts to support others and their families during breast cancer treatment never stopped, and it was this commitment to the community that has seen her recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia.
“It takes months for your brain to catch up when you hear the words ‘you have cancer’,” Mrs Forteath said.
“You think ‘oh I'm dying and there is not future’, and you are on this medical merry-go-round, you are powerless.
“But then when the treatment is finished and you are healthy, battle-scarred, and the doctor says ‘see you in a year or five years’ you think 'oh what now' and I found the support of those women around me and our group was strengthening and empowering and I wanted others to feel that too.”
When you are bald and unwell all you crave is to look normal again, Mrs Forteath said, but once you do the psychological healing can take a lot longer.
“They’re now linking any cancer diagnosis with post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said.
“It was the end of May 2004 [when she was diagnosed] and I really thought I wouldn’t be here by Christmas. I didn’t verbalise to anybody … you are carrying this huge load and trying to be very brave.”
OTHER WITH AWARDS:
She said this was part of what made the support group so vital, because many of the participants feel the exact same way.
“We have a lot of laughs and there are very few tears but there is time for that if people need it.”
Mrs Forteath’s involvement with the BCNA includes her role as co-chair of the Launceston branch, a community liaison volunteer, a member of the research board, a consumer representative and the liaison to Dragons Abreast North Tasmania.
When she received the notification of her inclusion on the Australia Day 2018 honours list Mrs Forteath said she was “amazed”.
“I thought it couldn't be right, like everyone who gets it you just go through life and do what you do, you don't expect any formal thanks,” Mrs Forteath said.
“I’m helping people all the time and their thanks is enough, I know it sounds cliche but it's true.”