Tucked between a coffee shop and a bank in Canberra’s city centre, Cataldo’s looks like any other upmarket hair salon.
But if you step through the glass doors and ask for a trim from Claudia Cataldo, it could just save your life.
“That’s part of our job, connecting with people,” she tells 9honey, “and if I can help save one person’s life, that’s huge.”
READ MORE: Killer hidden in Sydney mum’s car selfie was spotted by a hairdresser
Claudia’s mission to save other Australians began in 2021, when she discovered her own life was on the line at just 33.
It was late and she was drifting to sleep when she had the urge to perform a breast self-exam.
She’d never done one before and started pressing against her breasts at random.
“I noticed on my left hand side that there was a lump,” she says, “and then I realised the next morning, when I woke up, that my nipple had also inverted slightly.”
Claudia took the “odd” signs seriously and called her doctor right away.
Two weeks later, she was sent for an ultrasound where the radiologist asked a question that made Claudia nervous.
“Is there any breast cancer in your family?”
There wasn’t, but by the way the radiologist asked set off alarm bells. Claudia “knew something wasn’t right”.
READ MORE: ‘When we saw the bill, we freaked out’: Mum’s horror after health battle
When her GP called a few days later, she brought her mum and sister along for the appointment. Dad Angelo held down the fort at their family business.
With her mum at her side, Claudia heard the words more than 20,000 Aussies hear each year: “You have breast cancer.”
The rest of the appointment is a blur. She was in total shock.
“Obviously, I was really upset,” Claudia says.
About 57 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer every day and it kills approximately one woman under forty every week, but Claudia never dreamed this would happen to her.
The 11cm cancerous mass had been growing, unnoticed for so long that it had spread to her lymph nodes and she’d need surgery right away.
Within a week, she was on an operating table.
Surgeons ended up removing 15 of her lymph nodes and her left breast, performing a unilateral mastectomy and reconstruction.
Claudia woke up alone in hospital, where she remained for a week without a single visitor due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
“I never thought this was the end. I always thought […] ‘you’ll get through it.'”
After that she’d have to face chemotherapy, but something else was on Claudia’s mind.
“One of my biggest concerns was fertility,” she says.
She and husband Joe had been trying for children before Claudia’s diagnosis and didn’t want to leave their family planning to chance.
“After surgery the oncologist said to me, ‘it’s your time to get your eggs out’. I said ‘OK.'”
Undergoing IVF is no small feat, especially after surgery, but many women with cancer don’t have the chance to preserve their fertility and Claudia wasn’t going to pass it up.
READ MORE: Doctor’s mistake with Mia’s diagnosis wasn’t discovered for 10 years
:contrast(6):saturation(1.24)/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F90c9f1da-4e94-4f8d-bff5-1ab9c34e3b37)
Following fertility treatment, she went straight into chemo.
The isolation during the pandemic, fear for her future, and side-effects like losing her hair did a number on Claudia’s mental health, but her loved ones found ways to ease the burden.
“I was staying with my parents, and their house looked like a florist. There were flowers everywhere,” she recalls.
“All my family, all my friends, really carried me through it, and my clients, who are like family to me as well. I am so grateful for all their love.”
The doorbell was constantly ringing with more care packages and bouquets, little signs of love that helped her stay positive.
Celebrities who have shared their cancer journeys
“I never thought this was the end,” she insists, “I always thought, ‘this is s–it, and it’s gonna be challenging, but you’ll get through it.'”
Finally, after long months of gruelling cancer treatment, she got thrilling news: Claudia was in remission.
In 2023, there was more exciting news for her and husband Joe; they were going to be parents.
“I had a friend that offered to carry for me [and] our little angel, our little miracle child was born last December,” Claudia says proudly.
READ MORE: A disturbing discovery in Vivienne’s underwear changed her life
Son Emilio was born with a full head of dark hair just like his mum’s, which has grown back beautifully since she finished cancer treatment.
But mother and son might not be here today if Claudia hadn’t trusted her odd impulse to do a breast check that night back in 2021.
Now she’s back in the family salon making sure no other woman is caught off-guard.
Claudia shares her story – and a warning – with her clients and as ghd’s 2024 Pink campaign Pro Muse, she encourages everyone to perform breast self-exams.
“One of my clients has told me that now, at the beginning of every month, she sends a reminder text to all her nieces saying, ‘have you checked your breasts?'” Claudia reveals.
“And they all give her a thumbs up emoji […] it makes me teary. It’s incredible.”
There are lasting side-effects from cancer treatment and she’ll be on medication for years, but Claudia’s grateful to have this chance to educate and hopefully save other women.
“Trust your intuition, because I did. I knew that it felt wrong and it wasn’t right, and got onto it quickly. Don’t waste time.”
ghd’s new Limited Edition Pink Collection celebrates the brand’s 20th year supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation and will be donating $20 from every purchase to support research. More info here.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.