Can you tell us more about your journey, how did you find out, what were the signs?

I was working out in the gym and I found that I couldn’t last the whole hour. I rang my Pulmonologist and he told me to come in for a lung CT scan (I was diagnosed with adult asthma a year back) and they picked up that I had some calcifications on my left breast and one thing led to another. I was soon diagnosed with her2-positive breast cancer stage 0-1 soon after.

I couldn’t fully process my diagnosis as everything happened very fast. Overall, I was trying to recover from the shock when the doctor told me “you have cancer”. I was 25 at the time and there’s no history of breast cancer in the family. My initial thoughts were, why is life so unfair? Was this karma? Why me? Thankfully, I have great friends and family as my support system and a friend who had breast cancer 15 years ago that could relate to what I was going through. I found out on the 8th April 2019 then the following day I was warded into Gleneagles. I was scheduled for a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery on the 12th of April.

During the treatment, my diet was very strict. No hawker food, no processed food, and also no raw food such as sashimi or fresh oysters. I also avoided dairy products. Salads were only allowed when I made them at home. But after treatment of course I just ate everything I wanted to in moderation. Who can say no to food especially ice-cream?!

I started using products like Cetaphil as a body wash and a milk-balancing shampoo to help moisturize my scalp. While I was going through chemo, I definitely couldn’t go out with my friends as much as I liked, I stayed home often as I couldn’t afford to catch any illness outside. During this time, I learned how to spend more time with myself and tried to slow things down in my life and get used to this new pace.

The hardest part was to get used to my new body and also the after-effects of chemo.

So you came to Breathe when you were first diagnosed with breast cancer. What made you choose Pilates and how did it help with your treatment and recovery?

I chose Pilates because it’s a low-impact style of training. I had to give up barre and more strenuous activities because the impact was too hard on my body. Nicole (one of Breathe’s Pilates instructors) is also a good friend of mine who saw me through my cancer journey. She encouraged me to try out Pilates and I’m so glad I did! During my chemo journey, I went for a few private sessions of Pilates and found it beneficial as it kept me moving and made me stronger. This was the perfect style of training during this difficult period.