Tanya Payne
“This is for my daughter and the next generation
Tanya Payne understands the moment of shock. There had never been a diagnosis in her family so hearing the words “you have breast cancer” for the first time opened a world of unknowns for her and her family.
“I immediately thought, what’s next? Where do we go from here? I was comforted by the fact that everyone was just so friendly in oncology, and at the Katherine Wright Centre. When they talk to you and explain everything, it isn’t as scary. I said let’s get it done.”
“I’m a pretty positive person, so I’ve been trying to help everyone around me have a positive outlook. My daughter was a little more anxious because she didn’t know how it might affect her down the road. She started talking to her friends about it and found out some of their moms had been through it and realized that it’s going to be okay.”
Tanya is quick to stress that being pro-active and checking yourself regularly is very important. While an earlier mammogram hadn’t shown anything, every so often she would do a self-check, and that’s when she noticed something was changing.
“I actually ignored it because I’m at that age where I thought it could be menopause, it might be just a cyst. When I noticed my skin had changed, I thought that’s not right, so I went in.”
With recent advances in mammography, the two new 3D machines the Friends of The Moncton Hospital has set their goal to purchase this year, will take detection to the next level. They will give doctors and technicians more detailed imaging, especially useful in catching early signs in denser breasts.
“Any advancement is going to make it better for everybody, especially for my daughter and the next generation. My older sister has just been in for her mammogram. Now that they’ve found out about me, they will keep a close eye on her.”
Tanya’s final words of wisdom?
She says with a laugh “What did I see the other day? Instead of Instagramming your boobs, mammogram your boobs! That’s my big invite to everybody right now. Check, check, check. It doesn't hurt and it only takes a moment or two to do!” –Tanya Payne, Breast Cancer Patient
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