New trial aims to find better outcomes for younger women breast cancer

When mother-of-two Tamara Dawes was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was just 42.

The primary school teacher was initially told the cancer hadn't spread.

But by the time she had surgery to remove the 95mm lump, along with her breast, it had reached some of her lymph nodes.

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Dawes, 46, from Lake Macquarie, NSW found the lump while monitoring a patch of eczema which had emerged on her breast.

While she was told there was no link between the skin condition and cancer, she thinks her body was trying to tell her something.

She was diagnosed quickly with HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer, after her GP sent her for tests.

"I wasn't surprised but you can't ever be prepared." she said.

"It was at stage 3, when I had all the initial testing they said there was no lymph nodes but by the time I had the surgery it has spread to over half the lymph nodes they took out," she said.

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The mother of two daughters, Willow and Finley, had an immediate reconstruction followed by eight rounds of chemo and 25 rounds of radiation.

While she has finished mayor treatments for now, she still sees all her specialists annually.

"They don't make any big announcements," she told 9News.

"I am just on a maintenance programme."

She is also on hormone medication as well as treatment for osteoporosis caused by her treatment.

Now, a new clinical trial could help patients like Tamara, who are diagnosed at a young age.

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Called OLIO, study Chair Dr Stephen Luen, says the research hopes to identify a new and improved treatment for young women with the type of breast cancer Dawes had.

"This research is looking at the unique biological features of these women and how this knowledge can help us improve treatments and ultimately improve outcomes," Luen said.

"Young women often have more aggressive breast cancers and lower survival rates, and the only way we can address this is to do this vital research."

The OLIO study will be open at 21 sites in Australia and will recruit 50 participants.

Founded in 1978, Breast Cancer Trials conducts a national and international clinical trials research program into the treatment and prevention of the disease.

Dawes said she felt a lot of information is targeted at much older women.

"All the information and booklets you get when you're diagnosed they have older people in it," she said.

"Investing time and research into younger people is so important."

Do you have a story? Contact journalist Sarah Swain on sswain@nine.com.au