Karen Siermachesky found out she had breast cancer six years ago - on her 50th birthday.

“It was disbelief, shock, what do we do now? What’s the next year going to look like? How am I going to get through this?”

The following years would include two lumpectomies and a mastectomy before six rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of radiation and a 10-year treatment of tamoxifen, which reduces the amount of estrogen in her body to hopefully prevent another tumour.

Now, Siermachesky and fellow cancer survivors Erika Berting and Sheila Moormann have started a support group for people with the disease and their friends and families. They meet every fourth Tuesday at the Humboldt hospital.

“No one really understands how the impact of a cancer diagnosis has on an individual other than a peer who has been there, done that,” Siermachesky said.

Over the past six years a “wonderful” group of strong women supported her, Siermachesky said.

“That’s why we thought this group would be so important - because of all the kindnesses that have been shown to me over the past years. I really feel that I want to pay it forward. I want to pay back, and give back for all the goodness that was shown to me.”

For Berting, breast cancer is one hurdle in her life - but some good has also come from it and that’s what she focuses on.

“Some people say, how did you survive? I’ll say it’s probably one of the best things that have ever happened to me because I have a totally different outlook on life now. Stress used to be at the top of my list. Not anymore.”

Siermachesky would tell someone newly diagnosed with cancer to only focus on one thing at a time.

“Don’t let your mind wander to what-ifs, what-happens,” she said. “Because sometimes I think when you have such a life-threatening diagnosis, you let your mind wander - especially at night - and all these things come it.

“It’s, 'I’m going to die, what’s going to happen with my kids, how is my husband going to live without me,' and I think that meeting somebody, it would be, let's just take a look at where you're at right now, let’s deal with what’s going on now, and as you enter the next step, then we’ll look at what’s going on.”