For Tanya Lawrence breast cancer is much more than a pink ribbon.
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For the past 18 months the Clarence Town woman has lived with the insidious disease that has threatened her life.
But with four daughters sharing her genetic make-up, Mrs Lawrence, 49, has now joined a radiotherapy clinical trial to help relieve her girls of the same experience.
“I decided to join the study to help future patients following in my footsteps, have better treatments and eventually find a cure for this hideous disease,” she said.
“But I also don’t want my daughters, and their daughters, to have the continuous worry about genetic connections to breast cancer because my fear is they will go down the same track.”
The study – conducted through the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) Cancer Research – compares the effectiveness of treatment with the drug anastrozole before and during radiotherapy compared with anastrozole therapy delayed until after radiotherapy.
“It was quite shocking when mum was diagnosed because she is generally very, very healthy so it shows you how non-discriminative cancer is,” Mrs Lawrence’s daughter, Tahnee Riches, said.
“But, fortunately, we had a rational response to the news and I think that helped.”
TROG Cancer Research is one of the largest cancer clinical trials groups in Australia and New Zealand.
More than 4000 women have participated in more than 12 TROG breast cancer clinical trials since 1989.
“The impact this diagnosis has had on my life has been quite challenging,” Mrs Lawrence said.
“I’ve always been very fit, healthy, confident and outgoing with the biggest mop of hair and all these facets of my life have been affected.
“And you don’t have to go far to find a friend or relative or someone you know who has been affected by this terrible disease.”