Jo Lovelock wife of Andrew, mother of Sam, Tom, and Katie, married 24years, midwife, and breast cancer survivor living on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula Victoria, Australia.
A breast cancer diagnosis in 2003 – surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy opened up another world to me. One I had only briefly visited losing my SCUBA diving buddy to breast cancer several years earlier.
This experience led me to further education and I became a Breast Care Nurse (as well as a midwife) at my community not for profit hospital and prompted me to co found and co facilitate ‘Breast Intentions’ a support group for younger women on the Mornington Peninsula. The women I meet through the group continue to inspire me.
Through my cancer experience I have attended national conferences for both survivors and breast care nurses, stood ‘Live in 2010’ with 14,000 other pink people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ( the estimated number of women diagnosed this year with breast cancer in Australia),joined Amazon Heart Thunder and ridden a Harley Davidson motorcycle with 30 other breast cancer survivors 2000ks, become involved in our local community’s breast cancer campaigns from speaking at pink breakfasts, helping organize BCNA’s minifields of women and breast health promotion, combining both personal and professional experiences.
After meeting Ritu in 2009 at The Reach to Recovery Breast Cancer Survivors Conference in Australia and hearing of her work with Highways Infinite I decided to see if I could be of assistance at an international level raising funds and awareness. My daughter Katie joins me on this trip.
