Any cancer diagnosis comes as a shock but imagine being diagnosed on your child’s first birthday. That’s what happened to Anna*, who followed up a mild complaint only to be told she had triple-negative breast cancer and required immediate chemotherapy.
“Things escalated fairly quickly because it’s so aggressive,” she says. “I went straight into chemo in November, but unfortunately the tumour still grew quickly. I had to have a mastectomy in January and go straight back on the chemo. I’ve just finished radiation and now it’s back to chemo again.”
“Chemo is awful, but life goes on. I’ve got my little one and a three-year-old and they are amazing. They give me so much joy and keep me very busy – they keep my mind occupied. But they’re also very messy!”
“I was struggling to keep up with cleaning. I was recovering from the surgery and with little kids as well. It was too much. My husband took some time off, but we still need to pay the mortgage. When I was diagnosed, I was interviewing but I’ve had to put that to one side, treatment takes over your whole life.”
A much-needed reprieve came in March, with a referral to Little Lifts, a volunteer-run support service by Northern Beaches Community Cancer Charity (NBCCC). “Now, a cleaner comes every two weeks and cleans my house, and it is – aaah – such a relief! It takes the weight off, it’s so wonderful. Last week I was so sick when she came, I said I’m sorry, I really have to lie down. She was in and out while I was asleep, and the house was sparkling. I woke up and it was like, did a Fairy Godmother come over while I was sleeping?”
Jane* understands how hard it can be to get through the basics of life when you’re sick. One day, she was shocked to find her neighbour Lydia* passed out on the driveway. “We found out later she had a few medical issues as well as cancer, that’s why she fainted. We became good friends after that; she was literally next door and had no family around, so whenever she wasn’t well, we helped out.”
“She was just a beautiful person, and we were lucky to know her. She was one of the first cancer patients up at the new Northern Beaches hospital. We were very happy because of the care she received and, in a funny way, because of the social side – we got to meet lots of people. We were always so blown away by what the Nurses and Doctors do, how they help people, and we wanted to give back.”
“So, we helped to raise money for the NBCCC’s wig library and the clinical trials side of their work for the hospital as well. It was always a great feeling when we went to hospital for chemo or helping NBCCC – of connection and helping. After Lydia passed away, I still wanted to help.”
“I was no longer working, so I had some time and volun- teered to help with cleaning through the Little Lifts pro- gram. I’ve been helping a lady called Francis* recently. She is an artist and she’s amazing. When I meet someone, I’m helping I’ll usually sit down and have a chat. They’ll tell me what they’re going through and I’ll tell them about how I got involved, and how I really like to help people out. The stories are so heartbreaking, the things people have been going through.”
To support this great charity, come along to NBCCC’s Comedy for a Cause night on Saturday 24 October at Balgowlah RSL Club.
Get tickets at www.nbccc.org.au/events
And follow Northern Beaches Community Cancer Charity on Instagram for all updates @nbcccorgau