Bianca's Journey

This fundraiser is for our beautiful friend and colleague Bianca Feher, who has remarkably shared her story with us and we would love the opportunity to give back to Bianca and her family by assisting them with their medicals expenses and daily living needs.

Here is Bianca’s story ……

2022 was my year!

At the end of 2021 I had been married 3 years, living in my newly built home for just under 2 years and been promoted to a Proprietary Lending Coach role under Mel Gray, a role that I had wanted for close to 2 years. It was a fantastic start to 2022. I celebrated my Birthday on January 3rd and turned 37, international borders started opening up so we booked a tentative overseas holiday for later that year. When I started in role on Jan 4 I was able to pick up my first ever company car and meet my mobile lending team, who were all such lovely people. Things were falling into place not only financially but personally for me. Life was giving me everything that I had ever wanted. I felt invincible and empowered and so very lucky. Life was great and 2022 was going to be my year.

Or was it?

Around this same time I also felt 2 lumps in my left breast and booked a check-up with my GP to have them looked at. I didn’t think anything of it when the GP gave me a referral for an ultrasound as I had had one of these before 10 years prior that had come back clear. 1 week later I was having the ultrasound but I knew this time it was different. The technicians face gave it away, she was clearly focused on a few areas of my breast and mentioned that she needed to speak with the on-site doctor about doing further tests today. Something was wrong but she couldn’t say. She warned me that the doctor would likely ask for a mammogram and some biopsy samples and started walking me through the procedure. I was all by myself that day and when she left the room I burst into tears and couldnt stop shaking. Anyone who knows me, knows I don’t cry easily. 3 hours later, exhausted, I gathered myself for the drive home. Tests complete, sent off in the “red bag” and now I had nothing to do but wait.

My Diagnosis

My GP called me 2 days later and asked that I come in to go over the results. Knowing in my gut that it was bad news I was able to have my husband with me on the day. 3pm - Wednesday the 19th of January I was given the news – you have breast cancer and we need further tests to understand if it is curable and immediate treatment to stop it from spreading.

- January 24th Breast Surgeon consult. I was diagnosed with Stage 2 HER2 positive breast cancer with 5 malignant tumours and lymph node involvement, meaning I have a 93% chance of surviving the next 5 years.

- Feb 7th I recieved the results from my total body PET scan and was elevated to stage 3, meaning we have probably just caught it in enough time that it has not spread outside of my underarm lymph nodes to other parts of my body. This now means I have an 86% chance of survival over the next 5 years.

2 weeks and 2 oncologist appointments later I found myself in the hospital receiving my first round of chemo.

I am a very positive person and am very fortunate to be living in a country where I can receive the leading type of treatment for my HER2+ breast cancer. I have a 63% chance of a PCR response (pathological complete response) on TCHP. Meaning the doctors will not be able to detect any cancer when they remove my breast and lymph nodes at the end of 4 and a half months of chemotherapy. This is the best outcome I can hope for but I will still require further treatments.

After chemotherapy I will have:

- Either a full mastectomy or a single mastectomy on my left side based on genetic testing results, with full axillary clearance (removal of all lymph nodes in my left armpit).

- Radiotherapy for 5 weeks post-surgery

- Ongoing targeted treatments over the next 8 months based on post-surgery pathological report.

- Regular follow up tests over the next 5 years and then ongoing checks for the rest of my life.

Why me?

I am a fit 37 year old woman who takes very good care of her health and mindset. I go to Pilates 5 days a week, walk the dog twice a day, hike for fun, eat well, sleep well, drink in moderation and I don’t smoke. I did it all by the book. I know it can happen to anyone but I just didn't think it was going to happen to me.