Kylie Penfold's Journey With Breast Cancer
Kylie Penfold's Journey With Breast Cancer
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, breast cancer survivor Kylie Penfold shares her personal journey battling this disease. Hearing the words “you have breast cancer” changes the lives of thousands of women every year. Learn more about the personal and unique experiences of Kylie as she opens up to help raise awareness and support others on a similar journey.
Kylie’s Story
In July 2020, Kylie was diagnosed with breast cancer. After 5 rounds of intense chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy, she was exhausted physically and emotionally, but free of the disease. The loss of her hair affected her deeply because for women, shedding hair can symbolizes the loss of control over one's life or identity.
To navigate this difficult time in her life, Kylie turned to her supportive network of family and friends. They pushed her to continue fighting until she became cancer-free.
Kylie made important lifestyle changes also to battle cancer. She started following a cleaner diet, a healthy mindset, practicing meditation and yoga.
Being told that you have breast cancer usually comes as a shock. Whatever your situation, and however you’re feeling about it, it is important to know that breast cancer has a high survival rate, and most people go on to lead enjoyable lives. Kylie advises you to be proactive about your health, to get checked regularly to catch cancer before it spreads so you have a better fighting chance.
Some Added Info About Breast Cancer
Although there is a widely held perception that breast cancer is an issue only for the western world, the reality is that it is the most common cancer in women both in the developed and the developing world. Indeed, the incidence of breast cancer is rising in the developing world because of increased life expectancy, urbanization, and the adoption of western lifestyles.
As early diagnosis and treatments for breast cancer improve, women are not only surviving the disease – they are surviving for longer. Investigating whether lifestyle factors could play a role in improving survival rates is also becoming increasingly important. Understanding the science behind surviving breast cancer, however, is a relatively new area of research, but there is growing evidence that lifestyle choices may help to reduce the risk of having another diagnosis of breast cancer or dying from the disease.
Overall survival rates for breast cancer vary worldwide, but in general survival rates have improved. This is because the majority of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at an earlier and localized stage, and improved surgery and adjuvant tailored treatment regimes are available. In many countries, the five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with Stage I/II (only spread to tissues or nodes under the arm) breast cancer is 80–90%.
There is some evidence of links between better survival after breast cancer and:
- being a healthy body weight
- being physically active
- eating foods containing fiber
- eating foods containing soy
- a lower intake of total fat and, in particular, saturated fat
To know more about what foods and beauty products to avoid to lower your risk of developing breast cancer, check Lynn Adada’s article on our website!
For everyone suffering from breast cancer, or who knows someone fighting the disease, you are not alone. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.