Rosina was happy, healthy, and looking forward to her 50th birthday when she received some unexpected news.
“I remember I was at Young Street going through Frankston, and I got a call from my doctor,” Rosina recalls.
“She says, ‘Rosina, you’ve got to come in now, this afternoon, because I may have some bad news for you.'”
The doctor informed Rosina that a recent routine breast scan had discovered a suspicious lump, and a biopsy would be required. Having previously had a benign lump, Rosina admits that she didn’t take the news too seriously.
“You just believe that nothing is ever going to happen to you,” she explains. “That’s what you wish for and that’s what you want.”
However further testing confirmed that Rosina had Estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancer. It wasn’t a diagnosis Rosina was prepared for.
“As we say in Italian, the sky fell on my head,” she said.
Despite the diagnosis, the beginning of Rosina’s treatment journey introduced her to an outstanding team of clinicians, support staff and fellow patients at Bayside Health Peninsula, who she refers to as her “cancer family”.
“I’m so grateful and thankful from the bottom of my soul that everybody at [Peninsula University] Hospital just treated me so carefully and wonderfully, with care and compassion. And I got told all the information.”
After three surgeries and radiation treatment, Rosina finally received the news that she was cancer-free. She considers herself both “strong” and “lucky”.
“It’s all about having faith, being encouraged, positive self-talk, and thinking, look, it won’t be like this forever,” she said. “I want to inspire other women to do that.”
Ten years on, Rosina says she is living life to the fullest and being positive about the future. She loves being with her family, going out for dinners, and enjoying a good espresso in the morning. Most importantly, she is planning a trip to visit her parents’ hometowns in Sicily and Calabria, Italy. All of this has been possible due to her successful treatment at Bayside Health Peninsula.
“All the people that have helped me over the past 10 years are amazing. They’ve healed me,” said Rosina. “Prevention is better than the cure. And if you don’t get prevention, it is so vital to check yourself and find things early. Because we can’t see what’s happening inside us.”
This Christmas we are raising funds for our Oncology Department to help support people like Rosina to receive the very best cancer treatment, locally.