Look of the day
CAROLE GöLITZ
Some time ago, the foundation Look Good, Feel Better visited me. Whether Amayzine wanted to pay attention to breast cancer and especially how it helps women when there is also attention for their appearance. Of course, I wanted that, because where my life was cancer-free for a long time, I suddenly faced breast cancer from all sides. My mother, my friend, and then also this beautiful mother on the schoolyard. Today, Carole tells her story. And what she is wearing, of course, that too.
My story about breast cancer
At the end of 2012, shortly before Christmas, I almost fainted while grocery shopping. For safety, I went to the hospital on Saturday. Everything seemed to be fine, but the doctor said I should schedule an appointment with my GP just to be sure. My GP advised me to get a new mammogram. Without her, I might not be writing this today…
A few weeks later, a precancerous stage of breast cancer was diagnosed. Despite the fact that I caught it early, my left breast had to be amputated. I then chose to have immediate reconstruction after a second opinion. I was 40, married, and my daughter was 5 years old. I have been open about it the whole time in my immediate surroundings (family and friends), at school, and at work.
I even wrote this story about how to tell a child that you have breast cancer.
I also really said goodbye to my breast on the beach. The surgery and reconstruction went great and quickly. I was fit for the operation thanks to a friend who a personal trainer is, and after the operation, I found two top trainers in Haarlem: OncoFit.
I went on a nice vacation to South France in July 2013 and bam, on the highway, I got a call from my sister. My youngest sister had breast cancer after a check-up for my breast cancer. A small tumor. My summer vacation went differently than planned, as she was quickly operated on and would also undergo chemotherapy.
We then decided to have a DNA test done. She received the results first, no BRAC1 or BRAC2 (which I call the Angelina Jolie gene), which is a super rare gene (Li-Fraumeni).
With this gene, for example, you cannot start radiotherapy, otherwise, the tumor will grow and spread. For my sister, this meant immediate amputation after chemotherapy, with immediate reconstruction.
My other sister got tested and she also has the gene, but fortunately, she has no cancer. Our children (girls and boys) have a 50/50 chance of having the gene, but the policy in the Netherlands is such that you cannot have your child tested. In France, it is different. But I am ultimately very happy with this policy for my daughter. We are very alert to our daughter because cancer appears in younger people who have this gene.
Now I live with the danger that cancer can return to many other places in me. I also had my right breast prophylactically amputated and reconstructed. But with a brain tumor, for example, you cannot amputate your brain. Unfortunately, the reconstruction on the right breast went wrong. The prosthesis rotated after 2 to 3 months, I had to go back to the operating table to reposition the prosthesis. Now I am checked every year in February, with a complete body MRI, a skin check, and a blood test. And I have to hope every year that there is nothing or that I am on time. Always exciting, that waiting. With complaints (headaches, fatigue, etc.), you become really more alert now.
What do I hope to achieve with my story?
1. Clear and open communication with your child and surroundings is very important. Not only for you and them but also for your partner, the rest of your family, and your environment.
2. Exercising remains the best medicine.
3. Giving up was and is not an option for me. I love life and I have too many responsibilities towards my daughter.
Over time
Now it has been four years, four extra years of life, a gift, four years where I have learned to know my body, and slowly I am learning to accept it. I have never really loved my body, was always looking for perfection, always compared myself to others. I feel bizarrely enough a bit better than before, dare to do more things, and apparently radiate more than a few years ago. I can now wear dresses and tops that I couldn't wear before. I have also learned to say no faster, or only say yes to those things that are worth doing. But I still have downs sometimes and remain afraid that something will happen again, because I now know that I cannot undergo radiotherapy.
I am very grateful to my family and friends for their support, otherwise, I would not have won the fight. They were and are still there for me.
Then something lighter: the clothing.
– The real Breton sweater with the 21 stripes is from breizh.world. A brand that fits me 100%. I am Breton myself and Nicole, the creative director and founder, lives near Haarlem, just like me.
– The jeans are from Zara
– The boots come from Florence Kooijman from Bordeaux
– The underwear is Marlies Dekkers, the only brand I feel good with, even after breast cancer
– The bracelet is from Durf in Haarlem
