An extraordinary breast cancer awareness event

It was wonderful to attend the recent breast cancer awareness coffee morning event at Tribulum Restaurant in Almancil. The fantastic event was organised by Tribulum Restaurant and Vale do Lobo resident, Lisa Cattermole Watkins and was very well attended with over 100 guests supporting breast cancer awareness and prevention. Proceeds from the event when finalised will go partly to Associação Partilhas e Cuidados and to Associação Oncológica do Algarve.

On arrival, I was greeted by an abundance of friendly guests who wore touches of pink and blue in support of breast cancer awareness. Tribulum made for a welcoming venue with the team led expertly by Jonnie Pratt who made sure the morning ran smoothly. The showstopper table in the centre of the room was adorned with picturesque candles and flowers surrounding the most delicious looking baked goodies by Mandy Port.

Plenty of educational breast cancer talks were given by various specialists, to mention a few, we had Mindset-Shift Coach Amani Edyvane, Registered General Nurse and Registered Midwife Karen Morgan who showed the group how to self-examine. She made the important point of checking your breasts often so that you can notice any changes and that breast cancer also affects men. Karen offers her invaluable advice to anyone who may need it and said you can reach out to her on Facebook as she does home visits.

We also had a mini-guided breathwork session with Certified Breathwork Coach Niki Edyvane who explained the importance of calming our nervous systems and its connection to illnesses. Finally, we heard a talk from Dra Jelena from Pal Mental Health Algarve about the emotional toll of having cancer. Following this, we heard from Associação Oncológica do Algarve and Associação Partilhas e Cuidados and some brave personal stories from survivors.

Lisa’s Story

Lisa Cattermole Watkins is a proud resident of Vale do Lobo, having moved to the Algarve five years ago. Lisa told The Portugal News “Jonnie asked me to help with this event because I was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2023. It was very unexpected of course, as I think everybody who has been diagnosed will say the same thing, none of us expect it to be us! I was in France and had a mammogram done there and I was not taking my own advice and checking. I felt very supported at Gambelas Hospital in Faro and I did my surgery in Hospital de Luz in Lisbon because they were a surgical team I felt really comfortable with.”

Lisa’s strong message was “If you find something that worries you please don’t ignore it because if doctors get to it early they can do so much now with modern treatments, so do not ignore it and keep regular with your checks.”

Adding, “Awareness and early detection are key, but if you unfortunately receive a breast cancer diagnosis, then you will definitely not be alone. Please reach out to Partilhas in Portugal or Future Dreams Charity in the UK if you need support.”

Lisa underwent treatment in June 2023 and had surgery in November 2023 and then she had the good news of an ‘all clear’ in December 2023. She explained that friends and family were everything during her fight against cancer. “I had my incredible children and a staunch group of friends throughout, who created a WhatsApp group called Lisa’s Angels. There were 41 men and women in it resident in Portugal, the UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Many friends helped me from near and far because my father was dying of cancer too. It was a very difficult time with me needing chemotherapy and Dad needing radiation with appointment clashes but the support I had got me through.”

Lisa concluded by sharing “I continue to feel incredible gratitude for back then and now, for all the generous collaborators and donors of the amazing prizes for our raffle at Silent auction at the Breast Cancer Awareness event. A huge thank you to Jonnie Pratt, Ines Pratt and Derek Thorton for your immense contribution in hosting us.

“A huge thank you to Alessandra Gonzalez Dias, known as Niña, who is a Social media maven at Tribulum Restaurante. Niña worked tirelessly in support of this Awareness and Fundraising Event and without her hard work coordinating everyone’s fabulous support and generous donations, this wonderfully supported community event would not have been possible.”

Adding “Thank you again to everyone who came along to our event and to everyone who has given to my fundraising page: https://gofund.me/333573e6.”

About Associação Oncológica do Algarve

The Algarve Oncology Association is a non-profit institution founded in 1994 by Surgeon Dr. Santos Pereira who was also the former president of AOA. It was after having access to statistics on breast cancer surgeries at his hospital that it became clear that there were undervalued cases of breast pathology in the Algarve, thus motivating him to fight for the implementation of a mobile mammogram unit. The expectation was that raising awareness/education about cancer, and the consequent increase in the population's level of knowledge, would contribute not only to an earlier diagnosis of the disease but also to the demand for more timely treatment.

About Associação Partilhas e Cuidados

At the event, we heard a moving talk on behalf of the charity Associação Partilhas e Cuidados and the story behind its founding by Sandra Matinhos. The association aims to support people with cancer, including patients undergoing treatment, palliative care and end-of-life care, their informal caregivers and family members, both at a social and economic level and in terms of health and well-being. It carries out various activities and events in order to promote the raising of financial funds, food and basic necessities. It also promotes social integration, and provides support at various levels such as: financial management of income for the benefit of individuals, as well as home support, support at consultations, chemotherapy treatments and hospital admissions.

“The Association was founded by Sandra Matinhos to help people with cancer. In 2008, Sandra was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and of course, the shock became quite overwhelming. A month later she had some medical complications, plus her marriage ended. Moving along, a few months later her father was diagnosed with lung cancer.

“Both of them went through treatment together and unfortunately, her father did lose the battle to cancer. Sandra’s journey included the experience of standing at her Father’s casket thinking ‘I am going to be next’. After completing her chemotherapy treatments Sandra was diagnosed with the ERC1 genetic mutation which puts her at risk of further cancers. So she made the difficult decision to have the bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts) and a total hysterectomy. Ten years ago, cancer was rarely spoken about. It was one of those silent killers but as a result of Sandra navigating her journey alone, Partilhas was created. Sandra decided to create an association where no other person would feel alone in the journey again. It is truly an association that humanises this disease to just give them the support and love they need.”

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes