I am a 50 year old single mum of two beautiful kids, Jake 21 years and Maddie 9 years old. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in February of 2018, and being a Theatre Nurse I was worried about how things might turn out. So I went to theatre for what was supposed to be a simple hysterectomy, but when I woke up intubated and in ICU, my first thought was “s*#! what went wrong”.
When I was extubated, I was told that I had a stoma and that I had a bowel resection and had lost 10cm of my large bowel from a big cancer that they found intra-operatively.
So not only did I have to deal with the fact that I had ovarian cancer, I now had to deal with the fact that I have bowel cancer as well.
I was so mad that I had a stoma, I didn’t want to know anything about it, but I had a great stoma nurse who helped me through the whole process. Since then I have had to deal with the stoma but just recently, I had it reversed. Finally, I feel like a normal person again. I have had a couple of problems since the reversal where I got a bowel obstruction and was in hospital for 3 weeks, but I have been fine since.
My diagnosis is high grade Stage 4 metastatic cancer which has since spread to my ribs.
Since getting diagnosed with metastatic cancer I am all about making memories with my kids and for my kids. We have had a lot of wonderful trips together and as I have not been working, I have been able to spend a lot more time with them. Especially Maddie who is only young. I have been able to help her with homework and take her to and pick her up from school each day which is wonderful. My son Jake works from home, so I am seeing him more often as well.
I hope that my cancer allows me to be here for many years to come as I would really love to see my daughter finish primary school and would love to see my son get married. But the doctors can’t say how long I have, so for now every moment that we have together is special. As you never know when you might not get the opportunity, so make every moment count.
My beautiful daughter Maddie has also just cut off all of her beautiful long hair to donate to a kids' charity so that it can be turned into a wig and raised just over $4100 for Bowel Cancer Australia. I am so proud of her. My son shaved his head to be bald with me too.
Read Maddie's haircut fundraising story.
