A few of her colleagues, in their 30s, had been affected by breast cancer and one had died.
“You get your free mammogram at 50 but I didn’t want to wait for that,” Ms Magor said.
Her mammogram revealed ductal carninoma in situ, or abnormal cell changes in the milk ducts, which is an early sign of breast cancer.
“It was such a simple thing that showed up, like little white dots on the mammogram,” she said.
After three operations, Marlene was informed she would need a mastectomy.”
Her husband, Ross, said his wife’s experience had forced him to step up.
“Initially, to have a partner that is perfectly fit and healthy and then to have a specialist sit you down and tell you this terrible news, it’s like being involved in a car crash,” he said.
“Everything suddenly goes in slow motion and you kind of think, ‘Oh, not us, not us’.
“Then you come to this reality of the path you’ve got to go through.
“As a guy, we typically don’t talk much about these things and we typically don’t talk much about our feelings.
“But it’s a real exercise in keeping your relationship stable, giving that extra support … particularly when someone starts treatment where you’ve got to step up and start doing things for the two of you – not only care around the house, you care more about your relationship.
“You’ve got to laugh at the two of you because you’ve got someone who obviously can’t be too enthusiastic about life at that stage … you’ve got to step up on all fronts and live a little bit harder for both of you.”
Mr Magor is international director of the Rotary Club of Point Gellibrand, which will hold its fifth Pink Breakfast on Tuesday, September 29, at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria.
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre researcher Kara Britt will share her personal story at the event.
To date, the club has raised $33,000 for breast cancer research through its Williamstown breakfasts.
Tickets cost $55, with proceeds going to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and National Breast Cancer Foundation.
For inquiries and tickets, phone Faye on 0409 677 127 or book online at www.rotarypinkbreakfast.com
