Major surgery for Blanche in breast cancer battle
Blanche d’Alpuget, the widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke, is scheduled to have a full mastectomy next month following the diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer.
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BLANCHE d’Alpuget is scheduled to have a full mastectomy next month following the diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer.
The widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke confirmed she is booked for surgery and will have her left breast removed after finding a lump during a self-examination three months ago.
Following weeks of harrowing chemotherapy treatment — which has come at the expense of her always immaculately coiffured hair — d’Alpuget said she is now building up her strength in preparedness for the surgery.
“I’ve finished chemo and am now building my strength for the surgery next month. Although the idea of the surgery and the lengthy recovery occasionally fills me with terror, I’m focused on getting through it,” she said.
“There is still so much more I plan to do once I get to the other side of this thing. I’m not done yet.”
The author, who a week ago settled a lawsuit with her stepdaughter Ros Dillon over Dillon’s claim to a greater slice of Hawke’s estate, repeated her message of self-care to women of all ages.
“My message to anyone, particularly older women, who may be going through something similar, is don’t lose hope.
“You can get through it. You are stronger than you think.”
d’Alpuget was happy to share with this column a portrait completed weeks ago by Sydney portrait artist Sean Hutton.
“At the time,” she said of the painting, “I had just found out I had cancer and was yet to start treatment.
“I went and got my hair professionally done because I knew it would likely be the last image of me with hair for a while.
“I was experiencing a lot of different feelings. I think he tapped into some of what I was feeling that day.”
