Margaret - Interview 34

Age at interview: 57

Age at diagnosis: 55

Brief Outline:

Margaret was diagnosed with DCIS in 2006, aged 55, and had a mastectomy shortly afterwards. She would have liked more information about DCIS and its treatments.

Background:

Margaret is a married housewife with two adult children Ethnic background / nationality' White British

More about me...

Margaret was diagnosed with DCIS in 2006, aged 55, and had a mastectomy shortly afterwards. She was shocked to be told she’d need a mastectomy because she’d had no symptoms. Margaret said that one of her main concerns was lack of information. She would have liked more information about DCIS, why a mastectomy is sometimes needed to treat it, and about the different health professionals who treat women with DCIS. She advised other women to find as much information as they need and to ask questions.

 

Margaret was interviewed for the Healthtalkonline website in 2008.

Margaret felt that staff didn't always appreciate the emotional trauma of having a mastectomy for DCIS, and their behaviour towards her suggested they thought she was making an unnecessary fuss.

I suppose all I wanted to say was that I feel that I’m getting down to saying some things that, yeah, it was about the personalities that I met and I don’t want to talk about that on camera. There we are. So, as I say for me, you know, and I know as I say, I’ll repeat, and my mates at work will say, “Well why are you getting yourself in such a stew? Why are you worried about what they, what your reaction is with them?” And all that. And I say, “Well that to me is, you know, that’s me as a person. I can’t…” And that’s been, and that has nothing to do with, I think with DCIS or anything, it’s to do with …

What they were thinking of how you’re coping?

Yes. And also I felt some times that, you know, as I said, probably in the clinics they have to deal with, ‘I’ve been lucky. What’s this woman complaining about’, you know? And that’s the feeling I was getting, that may be totally wrong. And so, you know, you’re not ill, I was told. No, I’m not ill but you’re doing something that will make me ill perhaps.

 

So, in a way, as I say, that to me has been one, you know, I’ve had big, I know I’ve had big issues about it but it’s not all to do with the DCIS but I suppose it is in a way because if it had been something I could see on my body or, you know, was in pain beforehand …. Then I’d want something done about it, wouldn’t I? But, the way it happened, I wasn’t in pain and I didn’t see anything and therefore I didn’t want anything to happen [laughs]. As I said, you know, life is going to be, more things to happen so it’s helped me in a way, I shall be, I won’t be less, I’ll be less intimidated by hospitals, less intimidated by things. So, that’s good.