I’m Sophie, I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer in May 2023. At the time I was a seemingly healthy, busy mum of two young boys (aged 3 and 6), happily married and working in tourism marketing.

Despite following my intuition, telling me something wasn’t right, my diagnosis came as a complete shock given my age. While we do have a history of breast cancer in our family, I never imagined this could happen at my life stage. I am grateful I was proactive and want to spread the importance of listening to your body - prioritising YOUR own health, no matter your age.

The year I was diagnosed was an emotional and physically taxing rollercoaster ride but feeling lucky that my treatment worked. In May this year, I made it over the ‘health marathon’ finish line after completing 12 months of treatment, including 16 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, followed by 5 weeks of daily radiation and ongoing immunotherapy.

I have been lucky to have incredible family and friends to help me through, they fed us and showered us with love and emotional support. My sister was by my side for nearly every medical appointment, while my husband took care of me whilst juggling work and our young boys (with our parents ongoing help). Cancer doesn’t just happen to you, it takes over the whole family. We cried, we laughed and experienced every emotion in between.

My unofficial motto was ‘the show must go on’. While I wept behind closed doors, I kept a smile on my face (most days) and tried to keep life as normal as possible for our small boys. My oldest son had just started prep, a personal goal was to make it to the school gate most afternoons, wearing a cap to conceal my increasing hair loss and a smile on my face – the most important accessory to protect the boys from the darkness of what was really happening.

I have always had a positive outlook but throughout that terrifying time, it was more important than ever to stay positive, keep busy and remain as active as physically possible. The brain fog from treatment was a rough side effect, but I challenged myself to take up French classes as a distraction to keep my brain in check.

There were many days when I didn’t recognise the person staring back in the mirror. Cancer stole my hair and appearance; it zapped my brain and drained my energy but it didn’t take my spirit. I’m a believer in the power of positivity. I also held on to a bold daydream I was lucky to live out - on the long treatment days I would dream about being well enough to travel to Paris and climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, words can’t explain how special (and emotional), it was to travel with my husband to Paris and make it to the top a month after finishing my treatment! My new dream is to keep healthy so we can take our boys in two years for my 40^th birthday. Previous saving plans have been replaced with savings to share bigger experiences together.

I’m passionate about raising awareness and supporting other young women whose lives are turned upside down from breast cancer. The ride is rough, but my message is to hold on to hope. Together we can fight this.