{"id":841,"date":"2021-02-24T13:34:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T13:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prc.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/24\/avoid-touching-your-face-hand-and\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T09:57:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T09:57:53","slug":"avoid-touching-your-face-hand-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/24\/avoid-touching-your-face-hand-and\/","title":{"rendered":"Marsha\u2019s story: Breast cancer survivor and raising awareness through dance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dance teacher Marsha Schaefer wasn\u2019t expecting a breast cancer diagnosis. But after seeing a friends\u2019s social media post, something clicked. She checked her breasts, found a lump, and acted quickly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI immediately called my doctor, who sent me for a mammogram, ultrasound and later a biopsy,\u201d Marsha reflects.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The diagnosis was triple negative breast cancer, a fast-growing and aggressive form of the disease that required urgent treatment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-shock-of-a-cancer-diagnosis\">The shock of a cancer diagnosis&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 44, the devastating news caught Marsha off guard and flipped her world upside down.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy initial thought was, I was letting my family down,\u201d Marsha remembers. \u201cI\u2019ve got three boys, and my youngest was nine at the time.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She adds, \u201cThey took it as best as they could. My youngest told me it was all a bad dream and I\u2019d wake up and be okay \u2013 and I had to believe him.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-navigating-cancer-treatment-in-regional-nsw\">Navigating cancer treatment in regional NSW&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Living in Armidale meant Marsha faced a daily three-hour round trip to Tamworth for her radiotherapy \u2013 all for a 20-minute appointment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s hours on the road every day \u2013 it\u2019s exhausting. The travel alone wears you out,\u201d Marsha says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s where Cancer Council stepped in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA friend told me about the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancercouncil.com.au\/get-support\/transport-to-treatment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Transport to Treatment<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;service, and I got in contact with Cancer Council,\u201d Marsha explains. \u201cThey not only arranged transport to Tamworth, they also helped coordinate my appointments so everything aligned. I\u2019m truly grateful for that service. It was just one less thing to think about.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-finding-joy-again-and-giving-back\">Finding joy again \u2013 and giving back&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout her treatment \u2013 including five months of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy \u2013 Marsha held on tightly to the things she loved most: her family, her students and her love of dance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI love to dance. It brings me so much joy. I think I\u2019m truly a little girl in a grown-up\u2019s body,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve danced since I was about six years old, and it\u2019s just part of who I am.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now cancer-free and back teaching, Marsha, is using dance as a way to help others. Earlier this year, she performed in&nbsp;<em>STARS of Armidale<\/em>, a community fundraiser that pairs local \u2018stars\u2019 with dance teachers to raise money for those affected by cancer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDuring my treatment, I just wanted to get back to dancing,\u201d she says. \u201cSTARS felt like the perfect way to give back. My husband and I dancing together \u2013 it was a joy. It was a celebration of what we\u2019ve been through and a way to raise money for a cause that means so much to us.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-creating-change-through-awareness\">Creating change through awareness&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marsha isn\u2019t just sharing her story out of sheer gratitude for surviving \u2013 she\u2019s hoping it will create a ripple effect, helping others along the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI need to pay it forward,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t seen that post, I wouldn\u2019t have checked my breasts, and who knows what might\u2019ve happened.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Marsha, it\u2019s about empowering more women in rural communities to get a mammogram.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She says, \u201cEarly detection saved my life. If I didn\u2019t find the lump when I did, I might not be here today. It\u2019s such a quick process \u2013 just go and do it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nowadays, Marsha feels fantastic. \u201cI\u2019m living my best life. I\u2019m back teaching dance and enjoying life with my kids and family. I feel very grateful to be in this position,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marsha wants others going through breast cancer to know that help is available \u2013 and it\u2019s okay to ask for it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do this alone. Cancer Council offers so many services \u2013 just call 13 11 20,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019ll guide you through what\u2019s available. It can make a tough time a little bit easier.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dance teacher Marsha Schaefer wasn\u2019t expecting a breast cancer diagnosis. But after seeing a friends\u2019s social media post, something clicked. She checked her breasts, found a lump, and acted quickly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u201cI immediately called my doctor, who sent me for a mammogram, ultrasound and later a biopsy,\u201d Marsha reflects.&nbsp;&nbsp; The diagnosis was triple negative breast cancer, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,1],"tags":[103],"class_list":["post-841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-uncategorized","tag-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1241,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions\/1241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinksheild.bashdevelopers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}