Karen Lanyon, Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, confirmed this at a dialogue with Tuoi Tre on her own cancer treatment.

She is a breast cancer survivor, who suffered a mental shock when she was diagnosed with cancer and had undergone surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, just like other patients. Without being depressed, desperate, she fought cancer as a brave warrior to win it.

Australian Consul General Karen Lanyon (middle) (source: Australian Embassy)

"Cancer does not mean death," she said. "What I needed to do was fight it, be optimistic, and say to myself that I would defeat it. It's important, you do not give up and fight cancer. "

* At the end of October, you were invited to the Pink Hat Festival, an event of the Vietnam Breast Cancer Network. Your story received the applause of the participants of the festival, how do you feel?

I am very happy, because I am a breast cancer survivor. It is important to spread awareness to save other women. It takes many years for breast cancer awareness to spread widely in Australia. When I was young, that was not what many people said, not aware of it or could think that if someone was diagnosed with breast cancer they would die. So, I want to do whatever it takes to support other women, and tell people what we often say in Australia: cancer is not a sentence, you have cancer it does not mean you will die. I want to spread that message and help other women become aware of this disease and regular breast check-ups.

* But not everyone is optimistic that cancer is not death, how to change people's perceptions?

That's why I'm so happy to talk about my cancer, which is why I'm sharing my journey through illness. I even posted a photo when I lost my hair. I think the more people talk about it, the better. Like me, when I say, "Look at me, I've had cancer and I'm still alive, you can live and everything will be okay." It's a way to change people's attitudes to changing awareness of the disease and talking about it, and encouraging others to talk about it.

* How long have you done the treatment?

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, while serving as Minister Councerllor at the Australian Embassy in Indonesia. When I was diagnosed, I went to Singapore for treatment some time before returning to Australia to complete the treatment. I have been off work for some time to take care of my health. I underwent surgery to remove a breast and lymph nodes under my arm before proceeding with chemotherapy. By 2009, I completed the treatment.

* How is your health now?

I still have regular examinations every year, including mammography, ultrasound, and oncologist visits to check and make sure I'm okay. Everything is fine now.

* What is your feeling when you are a healthy person but suddenly one day was diagnosed with cancer?

I'm shocked. Although I knew something was wrong, I was still shocked.

* How did you overcome the shock?

I have my husband by my side, he is a great support for me. My colleagues at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta are also sympathetic, they have done everything possible to assist me in the treatment. Then back to Australia, all my family and friends helped me through that period. I could not make it without support from my husband and family.

* How did your family and relatives receive the news?

They were completely shocked. Everyone was crying. But my mother also won the cancer so we know that cancer does not mean death. Both my mother and my aunt have ovarian cancer.

* I know you have a great father who is always with you in the days of medical treatment?

Right. My father is always a big supporter of his three daughters. I do not have a brother, but my father always teaches us that you can do anything you want whether you are a girl or a boy. He was by my side all the time during the treatment, always supportive, and when my illness was better he started participating in walk-in events advocating for breast cancer patients.

My family is involved, but my father is dressed in pink (symbolic for anti-breast cancer) from head to toe. He even ... dyed a pink beard, a pink wig, and every year he walked 10 kilometers because of breast cancer

In the past two years, he has even won the best outfit at the walking event. He is not afraid to wear pink, but is proud to say "the real man must wear pink." To me, he is a wonderful motivator.

* Have you ever felt desperate, such as when you lose your hair?

Oh, hair loss is nothing to me. Hair falls will grow again. Fortunately, I looked okay when I was bald (laugh).

If it's sad, it's probably when my surgery is over and there are too many things going on. I also wondered "why me?" But that feeling only lasted a few days. Asking "why?" would not help, so I did not think about it and continued to fight.

Of course I can be sad, but I do not know why it happened to me and I feel my life is over, but that feeling does not last long.

* Looking back on the past, do you felt that you are lucky, because not everyone wins cancer?

I find that in Australia, more and more women can make it. It is possible that my mother's time did not have many cancer winners, but this day the rate is very positive, especially when the disease is diagnosed early.

So, I think the important thing to do in Vietnam is to talk about it, letting everyone know that if they have symptoms, go to the doctor soon, because the sooner you discover, the higher the chance of survival. I think that's really important.

* To her, the cancer patients are a warrior?

One time we took a picture to raise awareness about breast cancer and one of the posters I liked was "Let's fight like a girl." They are warriors. Women need to be strong and fight back for their disease.

* I feel you are a very optimistic woman, in cancer treatment, what is the effect of being optimistic?

I think that's why I'm here now. When you are sick, it is important that you have a positive attitude. It helps you fight disease, I think if you give up, saying "I have cancer, I will die," and isolate myself, then it is likely that it will come true.

But if you say, "I have cancer, I can beat it, I'll fight it.", things can be different. When I discovered that I had cancer, I stopped drinking alcohol, had a good diet, slept a lot, exercised a lot, and did everything I had to do.

That means you are the one who makes the decision to make yourself better.

* Looking back on the past, if you have to use a word to describe, she will choose from what?

"Strength". You have to be strong in many ways, strong enough to ask questions, be strong enough to fight, be strong enough to help others when your treatment is finished.

* So, do you think people should tell their story and encourage others to do so?

Yes, I know that women are afraid to talk about their bodies in public. In Australia, there was also a generation where women did not talk in public because it was... the breast. But not just breast, people are also afraid to talk about cancer. Some Vietnamese women told me that they do not want others to feel sorry for them because when they say they have cancer, people will treat them in a different way, people will sympathize with them. But I do not think so, my friends support me a lot, they bought me wigs, I do not think it is necessarily negative.

I think if we do not talk, there will be more people dying of breast cancer. So, the way to help other women is to overcome that prejudice, then we can talk about our body, cancer, about cancer defeating.

* Do you have any advice for cancer patients?

Get as much knowledge as possible about your illness once you have been diagnosed with cancer. Ask your doctor many questions, ask everything they say to you and make sure you are comfortable with what you hear. That is your body and your life so just keep asking.

At the same time, keep yourself optimistic and get support from those around you, which will give you more opportunities to live.

* If you give a message to a cancer patient, what message would you give?

Cancer is not a sentence. For women with breast cancer, I want to remind them that "let's fight like a girl"!

Karen Lanyon - a warrior against cancer (source: Australian Embassy)

Prior to arriving in Vietnam as Australian Consul General in HCMC, Karen Lanyon served as Australian Consul General in Los Angeles, the Minister Counselor of Australia at the Australian Embassy in Indonesia, the Australian Deputy Ambassador to Cambodia, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia in Sydney... Karen Lanyon supports the Vietnam Breast Cancer Network which is based on the model of Breast Cancer Network of Australia. In her opinion, the Australian Government and the Australian Consulate are willing to support breast cancer networks in Vietnam to help this network develop and raise awareness of breast cancer among Vietnamese women./.

( VNF/Tuoitre News )