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Survivor spreads important message

CSBP Limited Kwinana employee Shelby Coombs and truck drivers Terry Smith and Dave Emin support Purple Bra Day for Breast Cancer Care WA.

Surviving breast cancer has spurred Waikiki mother Shelby Coombs to wave the purple bra for Breast Cancer Care WA.

At 42, Mrs Coombs made the decision to have a double mastectomy in 2012 after doctors found two cancerous cysts in her breast.

Now, after an 18-month recovery, Mrs Coombs said her number one message to young women was “don’t wait until you are 50 to get a mammogram”.

To spread the word, Mrs Coombs is taking part in Purple Bra Day at work, preparing to wear purple alongside her colleagues at CSBP Limited Kwinana.

Mrs Coombs believed even the truckies stopping by would be flashing purple lingerie as the company supported the cancer initiative for the fourth year.

Having supported the fundraiser in the past, Mrs Coombs said it had now become much more meaningful to her.

She said it was not until her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2012 that she and her sister decided to have a mammogram.

She said the diagnosis was a shock.

“I had felt no lumps, I didn’t feel ill... I had always been fit and healthy and I never expected it,” she said.

She said she hoped young women would take note and ask their doctors for mammograms sooner rather than later.

Last year, Westfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers, which includes CSBP, raised more than $12,000 for Breast Cancer Care WA.