On Apr. 10, 1999 Wrold Championships silver medalist and 2000 Sydney Olympian Ari Ichihashi announced on her Instagram account that a breast cancer exam had revealed the need for more detailed examination. She said that there was "no problem" with the results but that she "would like to make use of this opportunity to deal with breast cancer and health issues facing women."
Ichihashi currently helps coach a running club, makes frequent guest appearances at races, and does television commentary. In the midst of such a busy lifestyle she had a routine examination and was surprised that, "when the results came back a lump was visible in the mammogram."
Afterward she underwent further examination, illuminating her uneasy feelings as she wrote, "I was only there a few days, but the faces of my beloved family and friends kept coming to me one after another. I feel like I haven't really done much to leave behind so I want to use the time I left meaningfully, but I've realized that in the end, the worst thing would be not being able to see the people I love again."
"The uncertainty and fear were greater than being on the starting line of a marathon," she wrote with honesty. Fortunately, the extended examination revealed that there was "no problem," and that the lump was not a major illness like breast cancer.
Having faced the possibility of having contracted cancer, Ichihashi called on her followers to undergo regular examinations. "My feelings are nowhere near what those who have been diagnosed with cancer are going through, but I hope that others can make use of my experience to undergo regular breast cancer examinations of their own," she wrote. "I too want to take this opportunity to deal properly with breast cancer and women's health issues."
source article:
https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2019/04/11/0012232119.shtml
translated by Brett Larner
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