When Emily Quinlan discovered a rock-hard lump in her breast last September, the thought that it might be breast cancer never really crossed her mind.
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At just 25, and with no family history of breast cancer, both she and her doctor thought scans would reveal the lump as a cyst, or a blocked or infected milk duct.
But Ms Quinlan's world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and thrown into an unfamiliar world of hospitals, treatment, side effects and uncertainty.
After first undergoing IVF to store eggs in case treatment damaged her fertility, Ms Quinlan has undergone six months of intense chemotherapy, surgery, started another six-month course of more targeted treatment and on Monday she starts radiation therapy five days a week for at least four weeks.
At her side since the initial diagnosis has been McGrath Breast Care Nurse Joylene Fletcher.
"Joylene was actually there the day I was diagnosed so she has been with me every step of the way since. Especially doing this through COVID when I couldn't have my mum, sister or any close friends with me, if not for her I would have been alone all the time," Ms Quinlan said.
"Even when there's no COVID restrictions, Joylene comes to all my appointments and treatment days and gets results and I can ring or meet up with her any time. She breaks everything down for me and explains it so I understand and always know what's going on."
Ms Fletcher is one of 185 McGrath Breast Care Nurses across Australia who care for breast cancer patients and their families, providing support, guidance and answers.
To mark International Nurses Day on Thursday May 12, the McGrath Foundation has announced it would fund another 65 nurses to increase that number to 250 by 2025.
And a striking mural of Ms Quinlan and Ms Fletcher, representing the thousands of people diagnosed with breast cancer and the McGrath Breast Care Nurses who support them, will be unveiled in North Sydney.
Ms Quinlan sees Ms Fletcher as a "mother figure" and vital to her cancer journey.
"Obviously my family want to hear and understand what's going on and because Joylene is not just for me, she is there to support the family too, so she could always keep them updated. One day I had to go in an ambulance to hospital and Joylene came down to meet me in emergency because no one could come with me so without her I would have been so lost."
Ms Fletcher also kept her family updated, particularly when Ms Quinlan was "foggy" from treatment.
"During COVID when I was having treatment, it was really tricky because I felt so foggy all the time. I was feeling so sick ... I could sit there for hours at hospital and go to appointments and come home with no idea what I had just been told."
Ms Fletcher said it was an honour to support those going through treatment.
"We are there right through," she said.
"Like with Emily when she did not know her diagnosis, we are there right through their consultations, all their different specialists, treatment and whenever they need. It's really important to make that connection. Even though they are overwhelmed at the time with the diagnosis, we follow up with them in a couple of days when they've had time to process ... with emotional support, information about the diagnosis so they can make informed decisions about what's going on, and just to help."
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