Evelyn Wood’s Cancer Recovery.

Hi, I’m Evelyn, I’m facing the biggest challenge of my life and am humbly searching for support. I’ve been diagnosed with Aggressive Invasive Cancer (Triple-Negative Breast Cancer) and have a difficult treatment and recovery ahead of me. The generous donations will go towards covering some of the additional living costs, for better treatment, and comfort during my cancer journey.

One of the big challenges ahead for me is that I live in rural Australia and have had to leave my beloved country home to move into town for the duration of my treatment. My local hospital in town has great Oncology and Surgery units but doesn’t have a Radiation Therapy unit. The nearest hospital with this is a further 400 km away. A private cancer centre in town does perform radiotherapy, but it must be paid for upfront. After radiation and ongoing relocation costs, any surplus money would go towards complimentary therapies (oncology massage, acupuncture, etc.), a comfortable wig, and chemotherapy suitable cosmetics.

Most people know my passion for sewing, and if it were possible, I would also set up a workable sewing space for my long-term recovery where I love to be, in my country home.

Raised funds will be spent on:

I’ve got so much more life to live! I’m certainly not ready to leave the world yet. There’s a good chance I can win this fight and I’ll do whatever it takes. But I can’t do it alone, I’m fortunate I have many wonderful people assisting me with medical treatment, work obligations, basic daily tasks and my physical care. The next ten months, or more, will be a huge financial drain, savings should get me most of the way, but you can help me immensely with a donation.

The love and support I’ve received so far is honestly, overwhelming. My wholehearted thanks to everyone who is standing behind me in this battle. I know life is expensive for us all, so if you cannot afford to give, another way to offer your support is by sharing my fundraiser to help get the word out.

You can read about my unfolding cancer story below, I’ll try to add updates when I’m able.

MY JOURNEY:

In January I felt a small lump in my left breast while showering. I realised the importance to check the lump as my grandmother had died from breast cancer when I was a teenager. I booked an appointment with my GP to have it examined. I was feeling trepidation about it, but I honestly didn’t really believe it would be anything serious – I was too young and I’ve never had health issues before.

Even though I have a very public profile, I enjoy solitude and privacy. I actually live in a little cabin, high in the mountains of Clarke Range. Just after discovering the lump, a monsoonal storm began and landslides blocked the only road up the range – the road was closed for 2 weeks, we were isolated and so I had to reschedule my appointment.

When the road into town was finally open, I went to see the doctor the next day. They examined the lump and sent me to have a mammogram. While at the screening centre, they saw the lump and immediately followed it with an ultrasound test. The results indicated a lesion with microcalcifications and directed the doctor to request a core biopsy. I had the biopsy performed the very next day. I mostly assumed, partly hoped, this was all just precaution.

A couple days later the results were sent to the doctor, so I came in for an appointment. The biopsy summary was Invasive Carcinoma, both hormone receptors negative and HER2 negative. I was horrified. He told me this type was called Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) and it’s the “bad one”. The world closed in around me. Although I was in shock and utter disbelief, I couldn’t stop sobbing as it was explained. TNBC is very aggressive, difficult to treat, has a high recurrence rate, and tends to spread (metastasis) quickly to lymph nodes, lungs, heart, and brain. Prognoses aren’t good for this type of cancer. I was told without treatment I might have 12 months. Words can’t describe my grief in that moment, I couldn’t believe this was real, it felt like a dream and I was waiting to wake up, my distress was beyond measure.

Reflecting now, my doctor handled a difficult conversation well, it was hard news to give. He instructed me I needed immediate treatment, transferred me over to the Base Hospital and ordered a full-body CT scan. I felt detached from reality, like none of it was really happening and I was still in that dream.

I had one day to return home and collect belongings. Unfortunately, home is too far away from town to travel for medical services (100km drive on a road that was still only open for 3 time slots a day). I love my country home and I was heartbroken leaving my peaceful sanctuary not knowing when I would next return. I’ve now taken long-term temporary accommodation in the town of Mackay for outpatient services and can call an ambulance if there’s an emergency between treatments.

At this point everything seemed to be happen so fast. The CT scan was done. I was triaged as category 1. A specialist Multi-disciplinary Team was formed to oversee treatment. I had lots of blood tests, an echocardiogram, and the cancer was imaged with a PET scan. Samples for genetic testing were taken (given for breast cancer patients under 40 years). There was also an operation to put a small metal tissue marker inside the tumour. An initial treatment plan was determined for me by the specialist team involving Chemotherapy, Surgeries, and Radiation Therapy.

Thankfully I detected the cancer early. The PET scan didn’t show tumours formed in other parts of my body yet! This was the greatest relief as it greatly improves the treatment outcomes for me.

I’ve now begun the first stage of treatment. A five-month program of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. The oncologist chose a method called Dose-Dense Chemotherapy, which is an aggressive approach of high doses administered quickly. I receive two different chemo medicines each fortnightly session for the first two months, then three more chemo medicines in weekly sessions for a further three months. There are also two different types of white blood cell booster injections and steroids I need so my body can recover enough between chemo sessions.

One of the drugs they started me on is nicknamed the ‘Red Devil’. It can cause heart failure, so I get monitoring (echocardiograms and electrocardiograms) for this and other blood effects. It’s very toxic, and it makes me cytotoxic to other people while it’s in my body. It also kills the immune system, I’m immunocompromised while having chemotherapy. If I get an infection my body won’t be able to heal me so I have to immediately go to the hospital’s emergency department. And this ‘red devil’ is the one that likes to make your hair fall out.

There’s a review scheduled three months into my chemotherapy treatment where they do extra tests to evaluate the cancer’s response. After five months I receive another batch of testing and the treatment team decide the next phase… currently, this looks likely to be surgeries, then daily radiation for two months.

This is the hardest challenge of my life, one I couldn’t get through without support. I’m grateful to the doctors and nurses I’ve had from surgery, cardiology, and oncology units, they’ve been really helpful, kind, and have made this slightly less terrifying. Also, huge heartfelt thank you to the friends looking after our home and caring for the animals while I undergo treatment. Eternal gratitude and love to my partner and family assisting and caring for me. Blessings to all the friends who have offered support to me, you can’t imagine how much reassurance and encouragement this gives me for the daunting journey I have ahead.

I’ll post updates when I can and may have my partner post some of the future updates if I can’t.

Thank you for your support and well wishes, it really does mean the world to me!

Love,

Evelyn x