How a simple moment changed Heather’s life

For Robina’s Heather Gillard, a moment of intimacy turned into a lifesaver.

At 36, just six months into her marriage, her husband felt something unusual during a tender moment – something that would ultimately save her life.

“He noticed my breast felt different,” Heather recalls. “There was a lump.”

“I didn’t know much about breast cancer back then, so I brushed it off; this was in 1999, and I was incredibly naïve.”

Breast self-examination is being highlighted this Breast Cancer Awareness Month by the Gold Coast Primary Health Network, and Heather’s story is a powerful reminder of its importance.

Now 61, a sprightly mother of two and a grandmother of three, Heather reflects on how her husband’s early detection and a question from her GP set off a chain of events that saved her life.

“I had taken my 8-year-old son to the doctor with an ear infection,” she said.

“As I was about to leave, my GP asked if there was anything else and that’s when I mentioned what my husband had found.”

Her GP immediately referred her for an ultrasound and mammogram, but Heather delayed, keeping the referral in her handbag for weeks, believing there was no urgency.

When she finally went for the scans, the mammogram showed nothing, however, the ultrasound told a different story.

“Within minutes, there was a team of radiographers in the room,” she said. “I had cancer and just hearing the C-word felt like being hit by a Mack truck.”

Heather underwent a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation and after her treatment, life returned to normal for a while.

“Ten years later, I’d just done the Relay for Life to celebrate a decade cancer-free when two weeks after that another tumour appeared; it was a complete shock.”

This time, the cancer was more aggressive, and Heather faced a double mastectomy in 2010.

“I didn’t want to lose my breasts,” she said. “I asked the surgeon to take only what was necessary, but the cancer had spread too much, it had to be done.

Over the years, Heather has seen a noticeable shift in society’s awareness of breast cancer and the importance of early detection.

She says conversations about breast health are now more open and understood, helping countless Australians.

And today, Heather remains active.

She continues her decades of work as a freelance graphic designer and supports as many breast cancer fundraisers as she can.

“It’s been quite the journey,” she said. “But breast cancer awareness is improving all the time.

“And if self-examination means getting a helping hand from your partner, that’s never a bad thing.”

BreastScreen Queensland offers free breast screening for asymptomatic women aged 40 and over and routinely invites and reminds women aged 50 to 74 to have a breast screen every two years.

Further information on breast screening can be found at Cancer Screening – Gold Coast Primary Health Network (gcphn.org.au) and at BreastScreen Australia Program | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care