Right now, over 170,000 Australians are facing the devastating impact of blood cancer, and 17 lose their lives every single day.
Anyone looking at this profile probably already knows I’ve had a personal experience with blood cancer. My initial diagnosis was when I was 15 years old and I thus underwent 2 years of chemotherapy. After that I dealt with many long-term side effects, one of which was another bone disease in my joints. The effects of this separate bone disease have resulted in a double knee replacement, a revision of that surgery after an infection, and now many elbow operations. About 3 months after my double knee replacement, I was diagnosed with a relapse of my cancer. Essentially it was back, this time with a vengeance. Due to the profile and genetic makeup of my cancer, it is very aggressive and dangerous. This relapse bordered on a death sentence. As I began chemotherapy again we soon realised it was hopeless. The chemotherapy was barely treating and killing my cancer, if at all. After much deliberation and a lengthy application process, I qualified for an experimental treatment: CAR-T.
CAR-T is an amazing therapy, seen as the new frontier in cancer treatment. It is the result of the best medical minds. But (and there’s always a but with cancer), one dose of the treatment costs half a million dollars or more. Due to free Australian healthcare and the help of many foundations, I was able to do the treatment for free. I was given the treatment in January of 2025, and since then have been in remission. If it wasn’t for foundations like the World’s Greatest Shave and the free healthcare in Australia, I wouldn’t be alive right now. I wouldn’t have traveled with my sister, solo traveled through Europe, been able to start my degree, meet my partner, live at Edwards Hall and meet so many amazing people here, some of whom I know will be lifelong friends.
So in honour and gratitude of these amazing foundations, which have helped me stay alive, I am cutting my hair into a… very short bob. You’ll have to forgive me for not shaving it, to be fair I think I’ve done my due diligence in that regard. This final act, in my mind, signifies the end of my own cancer journey. To take back everything cancer has taken from me and my family. To assist in the advancement of cancer treatment, to help save other patients. To make myself feel brave enough to close this book and start writing a new one of my future without cancer.
If you feel impacted by my story or the reality of many cancer patients, if you want to directly assist in cancer research, PLEASE DONATE!! Every dollar counts and I would be eternally grateful.
If you don’t have anything spare to donate, please feel free to repost and share this story! The more eyes the better.
One of the beautiful things of my cancer journey was how a community rallied behind me. A community of loved ones, my family, friends, and people who I’ve never even spoken to or met. This community messaged me, prayed for me, and physically cared for me. They are also how I could get to the point where I am today. So I hope this is my final ask of all of you!
Thank you to every single person who has read this far, who has kept up with my journey, or who has helped fight cancer in any way.
F*CK CANCER!
STAY GRATEFUL!
GO TEDS!
Fabulous fight & support