Sharing a laugh during an interview panel on Friday are Netballer Belinda Chatfield, Victorian Women’s Football League president Debbie Lee and Country Racing Victoria fashion ambassador Sally-Anne Marshall.
By Bridget Brady
KAREN Hayes was on top of the world until her doctor uttered the four words no woman wants to hear – ‘you have breast cancer.’
The successful and career-driven woman had just moved back to Melbourne after a few years travelling overseas and met the first “normal” guy since she was widowed about eight years earlier, when a visit to the doctor in 1996 delivered some shocking news.
Doctors discovered Karen had three lumps in her breasts, and one turned out to be a malignant tumour.
“I really wasn’t at all prepared for this sort of news,” she said.
Now a Melbourne Football Club board director and on the board of the Breast Cancer Network Australia, Karen was the guest speaker at the MPNFL Women Making a Mark annual luncheon at Sandhurst Club on Friday.
The annual event acknowledges and celebrates women’s involvement in football, while raising money the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Through auctions and raffles on Friday, $4,800 was raised.
Karen told almost 200 ladies at the luncheon that she became “absolutely terrified” and thought her world was falling apart when she heard the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. “I really couldn’t believe this was happening to me,” she said.
Karen described herself as a “glass half full sort of a person”, so she set about finding out how she could make informed decisions about her condition. “I really worked hard to ensure it became one of the biggest learning experiences of my life.”
Karen said she learned about the importance of strong bonds she made with family, friends and colleagues, and encouraged women to go to the doctor for checks. She said many women held the “I don’t want to know” attitude.
“You need to know,” she said.
Former Melbourne Football Club captain David Neitz was the master of ceremonies at the luncheon, with other guests including Melbourne Football Club football manager Chris Connelly, netballer Belinda Chatfield, president of the Victorian Women’s Football League Debbie Lee and Country Racing Victoria fashion ambassador and local girl Sally-Anne Marshall.
