Reimagining breast cancer

[00:02]
I was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer. I remember it vividly. I was called into the room — my partner Mark was with me — and they said to me, "I'm afraid we have a cancer here." To be honest, all I really remember saying back was, "Can I still have children?" You could say someone has triple-positive breast cancer, like me, but their journey won’t be the same as mine. Breast cancer is not a one-size-fits-all disease. The fertility piece — that was my big thing. I was really lucky that I was able to freeze embryos before I had my chemotherapy. Not everybody is able to — or sometimes that conversation doesn’t even happen.
[00:45]
For any ladies who are just starting out and feeling afraid — I think once you have your plan of action, your treatment plan — for me at least — you can start to formulate an idea of where you're going. I had chemo first, then surgery, then radiotherapy, and hormone therapy for ten years. So I’m still on hormone therapy now. My oncologist let me have a break, and I used my frozen embryos to have IVF.
[01:23]
I feel very fortunate to have gone on and had my son. It’s hard work — he’s very independent, very strong-willed, like his mum — but I do feel incredibly lucky. Yeah... and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[00:01]
I was in London, under the shower, and I felt a knot in my breast. I knew it was something, but I didn't know what it was. So I went to the doctor to get it checked out. I got my diagnosis: slightly hormone-positive breast cancer and HER2-negative. They told me that it's very aggressive. I was afraid — I was really, really afraid.
The hemo nurse always said, "This is your film. You are the screen director, and you're the only person who decides what's happening here." We are all individuals. The cancers are all individual.
[00:40]
Um, everybody finds their own way. I called all my friends just to say, "Hey, listen, I got diagnosed with breast cancer. I will lose my hair soon. That's my new normal at the moment."
I also had a WhatsApp group — it was called Alex Needs Help — because I knew that people maybe wouldn't know how to approach somebody. In the beginning, I would send updates into the group. And it's kind of difficult as well to inform everybody, so I started a blog. I thought, well, maybe:
a) I can break a taboo if I go public,
b) I can encourage people, and
c) it will help me as well, because I can talk about it.
It is a taboo — breast cancer is still a taboo — and I want to change that.

[00:04]
I was diagnosed in March 2015, and we had just moved to Switzerland with the family.
When you get diagnosed, I mean, the first feeling is fear — fear of the unknown, fear of what will happen. And that, if I look back, was definitely the case. I was very scared.
But at the same time, there is also a strength in you that you’ve never felt before. And there is a sense of... well, a feeling of instinct — that’s what I felt.
I’m Dutch. My husband and I decided that I was going to have my treatment in the Netherlands.
[00:56]
So I had to leave the boys behind — and my husband — which was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. I stayed with my parents, but I was on my own.
And I knew it was going to be difficult and tough, but I knew — and I still know — that I had the best treatment I could have had at that time.
Breast cancer definitely changed the way I look at life. And to be honest, I feel lucky that I can live the life that I have with my family.
[01:38]
It is extremely important that you actually feel that you are receiving the right treatment and that you’re doing everything you can for the best outcome.
And that is absolutely what I would say to other women: just trust — trust your feelings.
[Music]

[00:00]
I was diagnosed with slightly hormone-positive breast cancer and HER2-negative. For me, it was important to know what I was dealing with.
I was initially actually diagnosed as triple-negative, and in the end, I found out it was HER2-positive.
You could say someone has triple-positive breast cancer, like me, but their journey won’t be the same as mine.
Breast cancer — pink — will represent everyone, but being pink isn’t just one color. It’s thousands of different shades.
I’m going to be creating shades of pink for this grave... for women who have lived with breast cancer.
[00:48]
[Music]
Hello!
Tell me a little bit about your experience with breast cancer.
There’s a lot of color in my breast cancer story, yes. So... where should I start?
I moved to the Netherlands on my own to do the treatments. That was a hard decision.
But once you get diagnosed, you realize that you have to follow your instincts and trust yourself.
I’m very happy that I could protect the kids from that.
There are a number of emotions your mind goes to at first:
“Am I going to die?”
And then: “Can I have children?”
I was afraid that my children would lose their mother.
I was afraid that I would die.
People have also asked me, “Were you angry that you were diagnosed with cancer?”
And if I look back on that, I don’t think I was angry — I think I was more sad... sad for my family.
You start realizing what’s important in life, and you change your priorities a little bit.
My story so far has more happy moments than sad ones.
I imagine two sides — light and dark.
It’s a balance.
It’s a balance between both sides.
Breast cancer, to me, is probably the opposite end of the spectrum from pink.
You want your thing to have an edge of strength — a strong being.
I can relate to all of that.
[02:12]
I’m very passionate about making sure other people don’t feel as lonely as I did when I was having treatment.
I mean, I never knew how strong I could actually be.
A team... you need a little bit more lightness, more weight.
I know. I knew. I knew.
If I look at this palette, I’m thinking... “Is this my color?”
You have all the colors of the rainbow in there.
Thank you so much for being here.
That was amazing. Thank you. I look forward to seeing...
[02:45]
[Music]
Ladies, I’m very happy to reveal your colors.
[Music]
I’m happier now. It’s kind of bright enough for me.
It’s beautiful — because “dusty” has something about a fresh start.
Yeah, that’s exactly what I would have pictured.
Yes. Yes.
Breast cancer is all different.
I think if you see the different shades of pink, maybe it could encourage you to find your own way.
You are not a statistic — you are you. You are unique.
Breast cancer is not a one-size-fits-all disease.
It is extremely important that you actually feel you are receiving the right treatment —
and that you’re doing everything you can for the best outcome.
[Music]