Share Your Story: Helen King

<p>In 2018, Helen King was diagnosed with HER2 + breast cancer. She was 37 years old and had no family history. Everything happened quickly once she was diagnosed. Two weeks later, after a biopsy, she had her right breast removed and 24 lymph nodes removed. Then she endured 18 months of treatment. Cancer has had a profound impact on her life.</p> <ul><li>02:31: I just found a lump in my breast by chance in the shower and it was the day before I was starting a new job. </li><li>04:33: They can't confirm cancer until they have those biopsy results. </li><li>06:01: Did they give you any options about the mastectomy?</li><li>09:16: I just think it would have been a much easier option in a lot of ways, to not have either breast.</li><li>10:50: I had a mastectomy, fertility treatment, and then went straight into chemotherapy. </li><li>14:51: I guess when you when people have had cancer, they'll understand that everything comes down to percentages. </li><li>16:34: I think the hardest time in my experience is afterward. </li><li>18:10: You are not alone and there's just not enough for survivors. </li><li>20:31: I don't think people realize just how much a cancer diagnosis impacts you. </li><li>22:54: I was put into menopause during my treatment.</li><li>24:32: How does it feel knowing your mammogram is coming up?</li><li>25:59: What was your best moment in every all of this?</li><li>27:26: What is the one thing you wish you had known at the beginning of your cancer journey? </li><li>27:52: If you could only do one thing to improve health care in New Zealand would it be and why? </li><li>29:17: Because of the way that things are funded, we just don't have the same access to the drugs that you guys have. </li><li>30:13: Are you ready for the Thriver Rapid Fire questions?</li><li>31:55: Aside from Cancer U, what is one resource you would recommend for cancer patients and caregivers? </li></ul> <p>Resources</p> <ul><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-C-Word-Kiwis-talk-about-cancer-105425417907685" target="_blan