Blog Topic: Coping with cancer
When Martin noticed small spots of dried blood on his bedsheets in November 2024, breast cancer wasn’t the first thing that came to his mind. But when a bleed in his right nipple worsened, he decided to visit his GP. “I noticed dry, crusted blood on my right nipple in November 2024,” Martin recalled. “By […]
In early 2001, Jason noticed a strange sensation after eating certain foods. “It felt like food was getting stuck in my chest,” he recalls. At first, the symptoms seemed minor, but after mentioning them to a doctor, he was referred for further testing, including a gastroscopy. The results revealed that Jason has stomach cancer. A one week later, Jason […]
To better support Australians living with fear of cancer recurrence, researchers from Daffodil Centre, a partnership between Cancer Council NSW and the University of Sydney, in collaboration with the McGrath Foundation and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, have developed a new online training module for healthcare professionals to help cancer survivors manage anxieties around fear of […]
Elizabeth was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma at just 19 years old. Like many 19-year-olds, she was juggling work, a busy social life and studying full-time at university. The cancer diagnosis forced her to give up her job as a personal trainer and gym sales manager so she could focus on her health. But she […]
At 19 years old, Elizabeth was juggling full-time work and full-time study when she was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2017. Doctors initially suspected osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, and spoke to Elizabeth about the possibility of amputating her leg. “I remember being completely overwhelmed,” Elizabeth says. “I was only 19. I was trying to build my […]
For Sebastian, the hardest part of an extremely rare cancer diagnosis was not the treatment, but managing the complexities associated with the diagnosis. Sebastian’s mediastinal mixed-germ cell tumour – a very rare hybrid – was discovered only after a CT scan intended to rule out a blood clot took place. “I am not sure I ‘felt’ anything other than immense frustration at first,” […]
Paediatric doctor Priyal was 34 when she received news that completely blindsided her: a breast cancer diagnosis. “I still remember how underprepared I was when the radiologist came into the room with a grim look on his face, pointing to the picture of the scan saying, ‘that’s cancer’,” says Priyal. Priyal had two children and was breastfeeding with her […]
When Laura was first diagnosed with cervical cancer, it was the last thing she expected. “I didn’t know anything about cancer,” she says. “I’d never had any experience with it in my family or among friends. You just don’t think it’s something that will happen to you.” Like many women, Laura’s symptoms were passed over as they were similar to what women […]
When Kon Galanis reflects on the past decade of his life, the word that comes up again and again is resilience. A Senior Business Analyst based in Sydney, Kon had built a busy career and family life when everything began to change. Within a short period, he was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease, and then bowel cancer. “In 2017, I was 41 […]
Matilda was just nine years old when her life changed with a devastating cancer diagnosis. Growing up near Albury, regional NSW, she loved gymnastics and spending time with her siblings. But a persistent pain in her ankle, which was dismissed for months, would eventually lead to the diagnosis of stage four bone cancer. At the […]