Chantelle Otten lifts lid on cancer scare

Sexologist Chantelle Otten had to undergo breast surgery while her tennis star partner, Dylan Alcott, was competing overseas. She opens up on the lump she found and the ‘meltdown’ she had post-surgery.

There’s a running joke between Chantelle Otten and her tennis star partner Dylan Alcott about the lump she recently discovered in her breast.

“[Dylan] would say, ‘Your boobs are so good, you’re growing a third one!’” she tells Stellar On Friday.

Otten, a psycho-sexologist with a master’s degree in science and medicine (sexual and reproductive health), can laugh about it now, but says the discovery of the lump earlier this year was a shock.

“It was stressful because it was uncontrollable,” she adds.

So the 30-year-old tried to take matters into her own hands. Rather than wait for weeks to see a doctor – and then be referred to a specialist who would send her for an ultrasound – Otten went straight to the emergency department in Melbourne.

Doctors assured her the lump wasn’t cancerous, but a month later, with the lump doubling in size, Otten required surgery to have it removed. However, her partner wasn’t by her side.

At the time, Alcott – the four-time Paralympian who this week won the US Open to secure a historic “golden slam” victory in all four major titles and a Paralympic or Olympic gold – was overseas, competing at the French Open.

“It just hit me... and I had a big meltdown.” (Picture: Justin Ridler)

Chantelle Otten with her partner Dylan Alcott. (Picture: Damian Bennett)

“I’m a pretty independent person, so I was happy to get and Uber to the hospital,” she says.

“But I can’t imagine it would have been easy for him to be away. Dyl and I prioritise each other so I think that was really, really challenging for him. But he was so beautiful and caring and really showed up in the best capacity for me.”

During the ordeal, Otten says her main concern was how it might impact their desire to start a family.

“We’ve been thinking about kids and discussed freezing my eggs so that we have that back-up plan,” she adds.

“That’s something we’re planning on doing in the future. I think just having ownership over my health and my future is really important.”

While the surgery was a success, Otten says the reality of what she’d been through didn’t sink in until afterwards.

“Everything just hit me like a truck,” she explains.

Find more exclusives in this Sunday’s Stellar.

“I had a big meltdown. I just realised I’m not superhuman. I was working so hard. My whole career, my whole life is about caring for others but I wasn’t looking after myself.”

At the time, Otten kept her condition quiet but says she’s happy to speak about it now to encourage women to check their breasts. And she adds that while work has hardly slowed down – she’s about to release a book called The Sex Ed You Never Had – she is at least feeling healthy.

“I’m tired this week because I’ve been up late watching tennis,” she adds, wryly.

“But the burnout is going away – and I’m feeling really positive about the future.”

Originally published as Chantelle Otten lifts lid on cancer scare