Innehållsförteckning för TAK2344 från Take 5

Approximately 57 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer every day – that’s more than 20,000 people each year. One in seven women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, meaning you or someone you know could be affected by this disease. October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so there’s never been a better time to brush up on your knowledge and awareness. WHAT TO LOOK FOR Medical oncologist Dr Belinda Kiely explains that the symptoms of breast cancer depend on where the tumour is and how quickly it’s growing in the breast. “Most people diagnosed with breast cancer are diagnosed with early stage disease, where the cancer is contained in the breast and the lymph nodes in the armpit,” Dr Kiely says. “Many people will have no symptoms…

My partner, Ryan, pulled up outside my office at the end of the day. “I’m taking you somewhere,” he smiled. “Where?” I asked, but Ryan, 47, wouldn’t tell. It was 2021, and we were still grieving the loss of our beloved dachshund, Elke. We’d only had her for six months before she passed away from liver failure, and our grief was huge. I’d barely been able to sleep or smile. Ryan parked the car at a house nearby, and when a stranger opened the door, we were greeted with a litter of baby dachshunds. “I’m not sure if I can do this,” I began. But all it took was one glimpse of the black-and-tan pups and my heart melted. We chose one and named her Greta. Back home, her presence…

My sister whacked a volleyball to the ground in our backyard. “Great shot!” I cheered. With just 13 months between us, my sister Maggie and I had always been incredibly close. Growing up, we were joined at the hip – dancing, playing football or volleyball in the yard and later, we moved out and both started working as teaching assistants for children with special education needs. One thing was certain. We wanted to become mothers someday. In 2006, when I was 23, I had some exciting news. “I’m pregnant,” I told Maggie and she was thrilled for me. In February 2007, I became a single mum to my gorgeous girl Mykenzi and my sister was the first to cuddle her. She also stepped in to babysit when I needed to…

Hi Take 5ers, I’ve been in a long-distance relationship for six months now – I live in Perth and he lives in Sydney – and we see each other every three to four weeks. Everything was going well at first, but recently we’ve been arguing, based on issues of trust. We’ve both discussed the idea of one of us moving so we’re closer to one another, but neither of us seems to want to be the one to make the move. I don’t want to break up with him, but I’m also worried about how long we can keep our current situation up for. What should I do? Mandy*, 42. I think it’s time you both have a really important conversation about where your relationship is going. If neither of…

My therapist Pam smiled at me. “What about drawing?” she suggested. It was 2013, and I suffered from crippling agoraphobia, a fear of leaving the home that had left me housebound on and off for a good 14 years. After a traumatic childhood, I’d struggled with my mental health. I became a single mum to three neurodivergent boys and developed an irrational fear of social services taking them off me. This never happened, but I became terrified of anyone ringing the doorbell. Everyone stopped and stared Once my boys left home, I started therapy and was asked to write my feelings down. But I’m a more visual person. “Drawing I can do,” I replied to Pam’s question. Back home, I sketched out some cartoons and, two weeks later, showed them…

To vacuum seal a ziplock bag, put a straw in it and close the bag as far as you can. Suck all the air out of the bag, remove the straw and close. Lynette de Jong, Castle Hill, NSW. When you go out, leave a game for your dog so they don’t bark so much. I like to hide treats around the yard for my doggo to find. Rosie Liang, Wellington, NZ. On warm evenings when the sun has gone down, we throw glow sticks into the swimming pool for the kids to swim among. They love it! Trina Dixon, Maroochydore, Qld. As a seasoned traveller, I always store my passport in the same place. There’s nothing worse than scrambling to find it at the last minute! Louise O’Farrell, Woy…

My mate, Jilly, put the mini cowboy hat on my head. “Come on, babe, get into party mode,” she urged, handing me another Vodka Cruiser. I sighed. “Jilly, you know I’m a Cadbury drinker.” She looked at me in confusion. “A glass and a half and I’m tanked,” I explained. Jilly’s a Pom and drinks like a fish, but has a heart of gold; I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. She’d just been given citizenship so we were having a party to celebrate. A social butterfly, she knew every expat in the city and they were all coming along tonight. “There’s one guy you’ve got to meet,” she told me. “His name’s Andres and he looks just like Ricky Martin, only he’s into sheilas.” I’d been single so…

In much of Scotland there’s an almost unspoken rule: when the sun’s out, drop everything and go enjoy it while you can. So, as I stood in the kitchen of my Airbnb contemplating what to have for breakfast, the sight of a morning sky growing bluer and bluer with promise was force enough to make me ignore my appetite, reach for the camera and keys and rush out the door in excitement. I’d come to Edinburgh, that elegant city of cobbled streets once home to some of the world’s most revered writers (Sherlock Holmes’ Arthur Conan Doyle and Treasure Island’s Robert Louis Stevenson are just two of a very large pool) with low expectations weather-wise. “It always rains there,” people warned me. In truth, this isn’t quite correct: official statistics…

Opening the fridge, I sighed at the sight of the wilted fruit and veg I’d bought just days ago. “It’s such a waste,” I moaned to my husband, Joe. Having grown up on acreage with parents who wasted nothing, I felt ashamed. I tried to buy in small quantities but no matter what I did, it would rot before we could get through it. “What sort of example are we setting for our kids?” I sighed. As a mum to Jordan, 21, Taylor, 18, twins Sierra and Jade, 10, and one-year-old Hugo, I wanted to do my bit for the planet. Later that week, in September 2010, I spoke to my mum, Michele, 64, about it. “Wrap the fruit and veg in a damp tea towel,” she said. “It will…

Walking up to the front of the class, I had a big smile on my face. “One day, I’m going to marry your daughter,” I told my social studies teacher. “Get out of my class!” he replied, agitated. At 14, this was a bold statement to make, especially since I’d only been dating his daughter, Jo, for a few weeks. But I just knew she was the one. It felt like fate had brought us together. Jo and I had discovered we were born on the same day, just eight hours apart, in the same hospital, in Manjimup, WA. Our families both ended up moving 1500km north to Newman, WA. We went to the same primary school and became friends as six-year-olds until our families moved away again. Then, at…

In her Little Red Riding Hood costume, complete with cloak and basket, Arpana Jinaga looked the part for the Halloween party. It was October 31, 2008, and the 24-year-old was excited to hang out with her neighbours and friends. She’d decorated her apartment, where she lived alone, as a haunted forest, and there were three other themed areas throughout the apartment block where the guests could drink, dance, and take photos in their costumes. Arpana loved to let her hair down like most 20-somethings, but she was also incredibly accomplished. Born in India, her father – a head professor in engineering there – had encouraged her move overseas a few years earlier to study software engineering. She was a rising star at the tech company where she worked. She had…

My daughter Abi, 13, walked into the lounge room wearing bright jelly shoes and a rose-gold top, but her face was set in a grimace. "I don't want to wear this,” she said miserably. "What do you mean?" I asked her. She’d begged me to buy her these clothes because that's what all the other kids were wearing. "I don't feel comfortable," she admitted. I sat down next to her on the sofa as she told me she wanted to dress like a goth. "Then do it," I said. "You should always be yourself." After that, Abi wore black clothes and painted her nails black, too. ‘Do things your way’ Sadly, she got picked on badly because of it, but my husband, Alan, and I supported her through her darkest…

I was standing outside the shops in Mount Druitt, NSW, when a man in a nice-looking car pulled up. “Hey, Russell, come here,” he called. I knew him as a local thief. Opening the glove box, he pulled out a large wad of cash. “Here’s 300 bucks,” he said. “Buy yourself some nice shoes.” I was speechless. Like most teens in Mount Druitt during the early ’80s, I didn’t come from money. My parents worked long hours in factories to support my five older siblings and me. They’d have been upset to know I was mixing with criminals, but to me they seemed like heroes. Their bodies were jacked, they had the best clothes and the hottest girlfriends. I wanna be like them, I thought. In 1983, aged 15, my…