Corinne’s Story

At 39, Corinne was fit, healthy—and completely blindsided by a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma. A seven-centimeter tumor in her breast changed everything. No symptoms. No warning.

"It was a pea-sized lump that I felt completely out of the blue.”

What followed was a whirlwind of appointments, and the news no Mum could comprehend.

That her life, and the future of her young family, was suddenly in question—her daughters just seven and three at the time.

“I was totally petrified that I wouldn’t get to see my girls grow up,” Corinne says. 

To reduce future risk and give her the best chances of a future with her family, Corinne chose a bilateral mastectomy. But during surgery at Mater Private Hospital, doctors discovered the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes.

Her treatment intensified: 16 rounds of chemo, 15 rounds of radiation, and ongoing hormone therapy. 

She lost her hair, her lashes, her eyebrows—and at times, the woman she once recognised in the mirror.

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer worldwide. It affects our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, aunties—every family has a story, every diagnosis a ripple of heartbreak, but also hope. 

Ash, a Mater Breast Care Nurse, sees the impact of research every day. 

“Better treatments and care for our patients has come from research. I see it firsthand through the women I support,” she says. 

“Thanks to Mater’s world-class researchers and clinicians, new treatments for cancer are quickly translated from the research lab to the patient’s bedside.”

It’s this research that gave Corinne access to the most advanced, personalised treatment options.

Corrine says research gave her hope and time. Her two-year scan was clear.

Every Mater Cars for Cancer ticket that you buy helps mums, like Corinne, fight for their future —fuelling the research that brings hope, better treatments, and more survivors.

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