The Power of Strength: My Story of Breast Cancer Risk, Resilience & Wellness

It’s easy to look at someone today, confident, vibrant, strong and forget the journey they’ve taken to stand where they are.

This isn’t just a story about a wedding photo from 1982.
It’s a story about legacy, survival, and the power of resilience.

The Day Everything Changed

I was just 17 when my beautiful mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was only 47 at the time, and doctors gave her just three months to live.

With fierce determination, she underwent a mastectomy on her right breast and began the fight of her life. Under the care of Professor Faulkson and his team at Pretoria University in South Africa, she fought for survival, was constantly under the knife and receiving cancer treatments but my mother defied the odds and lived another 25 years.

Her courage shaped me in ways I couldn’t fully understand back then.

When the Risk Became Mine

At 19, just married, I faced my own difficult decision.
My mother’s oncologists urged me to have both breasts removed as a preventative measure. But I was young, hopeful, and dreaming of one day breastfeeding my babies. I refused the surgery.

When I turned 30, I began annual mammograms under the care of my mother’s oncologists in Pretoria. After immigrating to Australia in 2002, I continued these checks religiously.

Then, eight years ago, a mammogram showed suspicious material. They did a biopsy and removed the area thankfully, it was benign. But again, the advice came: have both breasts removed. Again, I said no.

I was referred for genetic counselling. Despite two of my mother’s sisters also having had breast cancer, no other relatives were affected, and I was deemed low risk. The head of the Breast Cancer Centre in Canberra encouraged me to keep my breasts and continue annual mammograms.

And so I did.

Choosing Strength

But I also chose something else, I chose strength.

I cleaned up my diet. I moved, I exercised, I trained.
I dedicated myself to fitness, not just as a hobby but as a way of life. I proudly represented Australia, winning two silver medals in body sculpting. I haqve taught countless women how to build strong, flexible, feminine bodies through correct movement.

A Moment That Meant Everything

Last Thursday, I went for my latest mammogram.
The radiologist finished the scan, turned to me, and said:
“Has anyone told you that you have the most amazing pectoral muscles?”

That moment meant the world to me.
I wanted to run out into the street and shout it from the rooftops!

Here I am, just a few months shy of my 63rd birthday feeling stronger inside and out than ever before.

Gratitude, Always

This is my story, and I share it not for sympathy, but to remind you of this:

👉 You are never powerless.
👉 You can make choices that shape your strength, your health, your future.
👉 And no matter your family history or risks, you are not your diagnosis.

I am so deeply grateful to be well.
And I am committed, every day, to helping other women step into their own power through fitness, through wellness, through confidence.

Thank you for reading my journey.
Adèle xx