Kelly Scherger, a mum of three from Mildura in regional Victoria, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at 39. 

She fought for months to get more testing before finding out her result and says “we need to stop treating breast cancer like an older person's disease". 

This is her story in her own words. 

In October of 2020, I felt a small lump in the shower. 

I would normally use a shower loofah but I'd thrown it out and hadn't bought a new one and was using my hands. Thank God I threw out that old loofah.

I went and saw the doctor and was sent for some scans and tests over the next few months which came back as atypical (which can be a precursor to breast cancer).

I initially said I wanted to go to Melbourne and get more testing done but my doctor said, ‘that's overkill, you're 39. It's very unlikely you’ll have breast cancer”. 

It took me going, 'I want more testing. I want something done.'  

I was on our annual holiday in January 2021 and I had a call from a surgeon in Mildura who said, 'we’ve found breast cancer and you need to come home now'. 

I heard cancer and thought I was going to die. And then I stupidly Googled ‘what's the worst type of breast cancer to have' and found it was the one that I had, triple negative.  

I was in Peter Mac the next week and going through a treatment plan. I did four rounds of chemo and then another 16 rounds of a different type of chemo – from February to June.

It was a big struggle financially as I wasn’t able to work for six months.

 

I had all of the chemo done in Mildura. I was initially sceptical of having treatment in Mildura after it taking so long to get diagnosed. But the Peter Mac team organised all the chemo to be sent up to the hospital and worked with the team there. The chemo team at the Mildura Base Hospital were incredible and supported me so much during treatment.

The hardest thing was when my hair started coming out and I had to make the decision to just shave it off – that was really hard on my eldest son because that was when I started to look sick. 

In July 2021, I had a lumpectomy (lump removal) and a full auxiliary dissection (removal of lymph nodes) and then at the end of August I did four weeks of radiation at Peter Mac.

I flew down every Monday morning and back on Friday. We have a place in Mildura called Sunraysia Cancer Resources who booked and paid for all my flights, which was a huge help. And the Peter Mac Accommodation lady helped me to find a place to stay. 

It was hard and lonely for the first few weeks until my family could come and join me – my husband and three boys have been a huge support every step of the way and I couldn’t have done it without them.

After all that I did another three months of oral chemo. 

I’m doing good now. I have lymphoedema (fluid retention due to lymph node removal) and I've had a fair few side effects from chemo – but other than that I just need to have yearly mammograms at Peter Mac. 

Mel and Lisa, the breast care nurses at Peter Mac, gave me so much support when I was in Melbourne and I have to thank Louise, the McGrath Breast Care Nurse in Mildura, who helped with so many things - even buying a bra to suit my breasts after surgery. 

Cancer shouldn't be a taboo topic – it’s something we should be talking about. I’ve been extremely open about my cancer journey and I’m more than happy to speak with anyone who asks.  

My message is to women is to be aware of your own body. If you feel something isn't right, get it checked. And if you feel it's still not right after getting it checked, get it checked again.