This Christmas, Bec’s wish is for her daughters to never face a breast cancer diagnosis like she has.
“The only thing tougher than telling your kids you have breast cancer, is knowing they could get it, too,” Bec explains.
The 43-year-old mum-of-two was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, when her youngest daughter Dottie was just 15 months old. Bec noticed a change in her nipple, which she put down to hormones, especially after she’d been through seven rounds of IVF to have her girls.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer and also discovered she carries the BRCA2 gene mutation. Her oncologist referred her to Breast Cancer Trials’ OLIO clinical trial, which is investigating whether adding new treatments to standard preoperative chemotherapy can improve outcomes for young, pre-menopausal women with hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative early breast cancer.
“Those first weeks after diagnosis were pretty dark,” says Bec. “I didn’t want to die. I wanted to watch my girls grow up. I made a promise to myself that I would take anything the doctors gave me, anything to get rid of the breast cancer.”
Bec’s treatment has involved many months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, then radiotherapy, with significant physical and mental side effects. This month she had surgery to remove her ovaries.
Bec’s family knows the impact of a cancer diagnosis all too well. Her paternal grandmother died in 1973, when treatment options were limited. Bec’s father Roger has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is known to be linked to the hereditary BRCA2 gene mutation that Bec carries, facing treatment at the same time as Bec. On the other side of her family, Bec’s mother Jill had breast cancer 15 years ago.
“It was terrible watching Mum go through breast cancer. Mum had a very different experience to me. And I can only imagine that in another 15 years’ time it will be different again,” says Bec. “Clinical trials are what give me hope - it could help future generations survive breast cancer. And it could make all the difference for my girls and my nieces.”
Bec’s daughters Daphne, aged 4, and Dottie, now 2, will be able to be tested for the BRCA2 gene mutation when they turn 18, to understand their predisposition to breast or ovarian cancer.
“Watching Bec, l see how far treatment has come, but it’s still so hard,” says Jill. “We need research to find better, kinder answers for breast cancer.”
Through the trial, Bec benefitted from a remote telehealth pre-screening process, which made a significant impact on her being able to access the trial from her hometown of Mildura. It has meant reduced travel to Melbourne for treatment, and allowed her to spend more time with her husband Matt and her daughters.
“For a long time, I just couldn’t get out of bed. Daphne and Dottie moved all their toys into the bedroom and built obstacle courses. As long as they’re with me, I’m happy, but I feel guilty for being sick and not being a mum. They’re a constant reminder that this is about more than me,” says Bec.
This Christmas, Bec is the face of Breast Cancer Trials’ Christmas appeal, urging supporters to donate to Breast Cancer Trials to help fund vital trials that will improve breast cancer outcomes now and for future generations. Her story is also featured in the 2026 Australian Women’s Health Diary.
“People facing breast cancer need new treatments and cures that can save lives and protect future generations, and this is only possible through breast cancer clinical trials research,” said Julie Callaghan, Chief Operating Officer – Fundraising at Breast Cancer Trials. “The type of breast cancer Bec has carries a high risk of recurrence, and existing treatments are often not enough. The OLIO trial offers women like Bec the chance to access additional innovative therapies that may improve survival and long-term outcomes.”
About us:
Founded in 1978, Breast Cancer Trials conducts a multicentre national and international clinical trials research program into the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. Every breast cancer treatment available today has been proven through clinical trials research. More than 1,000 researchers in 118 institutions across Australia and New Zealand, together with the organisation’s donors, are committed to the vision of no more lives cut short.
Contact details:
Sara McGregor
Media & PR Lead
M: 0424 591 241
Interviews with Bec and OLIO Trial Study Chair Dr Stephen Luen are available.