FOCus
She survived ...
By Farhan Shah
so can you
cells are still confined to the milk
ducts and has not yet spread to the
rest of the breast.
There was one problem though:
the errant cells were very near the
nipple, which meant that Theresa
might potentially lose her “nicelooking enough nipple” in the event
the doctor deemed it necessary
during the operation.
Theresa Tan took on breast
cancer and won. Now, she
wants to share her story
with others. Her message:
there is nothing to fear.
Theresa Tan has a Captain America
T-shirt in her wardrobe, not exactly the
clothing of choice for most 46-yearolds. But, then again, Theresa is unlike
your typical middle-aged Singaporean
woman. The mother of three regularly
updates her Instagram feed with
photos of memorable moments, choice
quotes and pet peeves, and has boldly
gone to watch the One Direction film
with her tweenage daughter (and lived
to tell the tale). She’s even completed
a few races.
Theresa is also a breast cancer survivor
and has been free of the scourge for
more than three years now.
While most women would have kept
quiet, Theresa decided to chronicle
her battle and recovery in a blog with
the hope of helping others who were,
and still are, fighting breast cancer.
She’s also penned her experiences in
a book titled A Clean Breast. “Writing
this book was one of the hardest
things I’ve ever done and it took such
a long time. But, it was a story that
had to be told to help women and their
husbands to have hope and be strong
when cancer hits,” says Theresa.
I no longer
see today as a
prelude to
tomorrow – today
must be used up
completely!
18
Family & Life • Oct 2013
Indeed, while Theresa’s life right
now is a picture-perfect Instagram
image of #bliss, it wasn’t too long
ago when the former editor-in-chief
of Elle Singapore was walking in a
dark tunnel, with the light and the end
nowhere in sight.
It started out as a sharp pain
in Theresa’s right breast. One
mammogram and an excruciating
biopsy later, Theresa was diagnosed
with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), or
more commonly referred to as Stage
0 cancer. That’s when the cancerous
For a while, although she admits it
was quite ludicrous now looking back,
Theresa was fretting over the potential
loss of her nipple. “I considered going
for chemotherapy so that I could
possibly shrink the cancer growth
and save my breast! It wasn’t a logical
and sound idea though due to how the
cancer cells were spread out,” says
Theresa, “so, while I desperately wanted
to save my nipple, I also knew deep
inside that saving it could mean losing
my life if I decided to wait any longer.”
With thoughts of her family
uppermost in her mind, Theresa
bravely opted for the route that
would get her up and running within
the shortest possible time – a
lumpectomy (where the surgeon
attempts to remove all of the cancer
without touching the nipple), and
possibly a full mastectomy (if the
nipple can’t be saved), followed by
breast reconstruction.
Thirteen hours after being wheeled
into the operating theatre, Theresa
came out, cancer-less and
unfortunately, nipple-less as well
— she had a full mastectomy and
a breast reconstruction. The most
dangerous portion of her journey
was over but the hardest part was
only just beginning. “It took me three
months to get out of bed without
feeling like death, and another three
years before I began to feel like my
body was 80 percent mine again.”
Theresa acknowledges the massive
influence her family played in
her journey, putting aside their
own troubles to support her as
she clawed her way back to some
semblance of normality. In fact,
while the struggles of the breast
cancer fighter are regularly
highlighted in the media, the
tribulations the supporting cast has
to go through are rarely given much
coverage, even though they are
equally as important.
“The shock of my discovery was bad
for Kevin (my husband). I hadn’t
seen him so wordless and pale