A personal post from Magali this Breast Cancer Awareness Month
This October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, marks a significant personal milestone for me and an opportunity to reflect on the past 10 months since my diagnosis with HER2-positive stage 2 breast cancer at the end of 2023.
When I was told my diagnosis, the medical team was immediately reassuring; my condition was well-known and treatable, although the treatment was quite intense, involving chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy.
Naturally, I was in shock. I had just joined Avyse Partners to launch their new Change and Transformation practice and was excited about the challenges ahead. I didn’t want anything to stand in my way.
What I remember clearly from all the professionals I met was that my condition was very curable, but my spirit would make the difference in my recovery. I then consciously decided that this challenge wouldn’t dominate my life, and I would actively try to minimise its trauma. A key part of this approach was closely linked to my job.
Work is a big part of my identity, and I felt I would be lost with no professional purpose. I knew that despite the treatment, I still wanted to be part of a team, to work, to feel useful, and not just focus on hospital appointments, treatments, and endless scans. I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge how stressed I was about informing my manager of my diagnosis as I didn’t have any idea how it could work. I was scared about being let go during my probation or being sidelined on sick leave.
When I told him, he listened, expressed his sympathy, acknowledged that we were all in uncharted territory, and reassured me that the company would adapt to my needs. He emphasised that Avyse’s values were deeply personal to the Partners and not just empty words, therefore we would navigate the next few months together, adapting as we went based on what I needed. It was such a relief to hear.
I know continuing to work wouldn’t be everyone’s choice or even possible, but I think it is important that employers have different options for someone undergoing treatment instead of one rigid approach. I wanted to continue working because, in a time where everything becomes uncertain, going to work provided a welcome distraction from treatment, interacting with my colleagues helped me to be seen beyond my condition and client work focused my mind away from fear and worries.
I chose to be very transparent about my condition within the company. Again, it was a personal choice, but it helped me integrate the treatment into my life and, in some ways, normalise it and reducing the trauma attached to it. It was also very powerful to feel the direct support from all my colleagues, not only their empathy but also their practical help when I needed urgent rest. “We have your back” were the words that provided me with the most relief because I felt I was truly part of a team.
However, it hasn’t always been rosy and easy and the most difficult time for me was when I couldn’t recognise my own limits and realised I wasn’t always the best person to take care of my health. After chemotherapy and radiotherapy, I couldn’t wait to return to normal and brushed off the delayed impact of side effects. I became extremely tired, but because cancer fatigue is a different kind of tiredness that doesn’t go away with sleep, I didn’t recognise it for what it was. I just noticed I struggled to work, but the more I struggled, the more I worked to compensate for my lack of efficiency, and the more I worked, the less efficient I became—a perfect vicious circle! At this point, my management stepped in and imposed a break, worrying about my recovery. That was hard to hear. I felt ashamed to fail; I felt I let my team down. I realised later, after a very restful and necessary break, that in a way, I used work to deny the reality of the cancer. And this was problematic both for my health and for the company and I am grateful for my management to have seen what I could not see and accept, my limitations.
It is a difficult balance to find between working enough to keep a professional drive beyond my condition while keeping in mind the limitations of your body. This balance can only be achieved with a supportive work environment where your managers and colleagues see you and care about you not only professionally but first of all as a human being.
From the start of this wild journey, I really appreciated the acknowledgment within Avyse Partners that none of us knew what would happen, and it was OK. It helped a lot not to have to imagine myself into a professional future when I had no idea what shape I would be in. The immediate and unconditional commitment of Avyse to adapt to my needs was invaluable. I believe this attitude, anchored in Avyse’s values, also brought a sense of belonging for me and the whole team, demonstrating that we matter and sending a powerful message that we can bring our whole self at work.
Of course, each person’s experience is different, but for me, because the treatment impacted my sense of agency, being able to work gave me a sense of control and freedom.
Having gone through a cancer diagnosis, extensive treatment to now be cancer-free, I can say without a doubt that I know intimately about change and how it can transform you – and being the head of the Change and Transformation practice at Avyse, I can also apply some of my personal experiences to my professional approach. Below, I’ve captured my 3 main take aways:
Sometimes when we are too close, too involved in a topic or a situation, we are missing the right distance to see the big picture and, in this case, others might know better.
When things are really grim, the feeling of connection is a powerful way of making a situation, if not less dramatic, at least far more bearable.
Change happens and you cannot control it; however, the best way to manage its impact is to assess early on the risks and take action. It might sound as a given, but the earlier breast cancer is identified the higher the chances of recovery, and the less brutal the treatment is.
So - for this pink October, don’t forget to check your breasts and embrace change what ever shape it takes!
