Help Cath Mundy Recover from Brain Surgery

G'day, I am Cath Mundy, a busy singer/songwriter/musician/performer and community choir conductor, and partner to my beautiful husband Jay Turner.

Together, we form musical partnership Mundy-Turner. We've been creating music together for 27 years. Website: mundyturner.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/mundyturner

We are also proud parents to a gorgeous teenage son.

I have always been lucky to be very healthy. Yet now, for the first time, a life-threatening health issue is confronting me.

The surgeons at the Princess Alexander Hospital in Brisbane tell me I need to take 3-6 months off work to recover from Brain Surgery and Radiotherapy to remove a large, life-threatening tumour in my head.

I am on the Category One list for surgery on Friday, 22 July 2022, UPDATE surgery is now postponed til Friday, 29 July. 

As a self-employed freelance person in the Arts in Australia, I feel privileged to dedicate my life to meaningful, impactful and joyous work in my community. It's my vocation. My goal from a young age was to work professionally in the Performing Arts, and I am so proud to have achieved that long-term.

Sadly, Arts-Workers in Australia, despite our HUGE contribution to the country's economic and cultural wealth, generally have a lower and less stable income than most people. As a result, I haven't ever been able to afford to pay for superannuation and life insurance. There's no "sick leave"!

When we don't work, our income takes a deep dive.

Usually, we can manage to cover the bills for a few weeks off. Six months is different!

Can you please chip in to help us financially survive the 3-6 months I need to recover fully from the surgery/treatment?

Thank you so much. Your support is deeply appreciated.

A BIT MORE BACKSTORY

In early 2021, I noticed my left-side face was numb. The strange numbness didn't go away; my lips, teeth, tongue, gums, cheeks, chin, nose. It felt like I was coming off a dental anaesthetic, constantly. Then the numbness started creeping up around my left eye, forehead and temple. My tongue started tasting weird and feeling quite swollen. Then the balance issues, daily dizzy spells, and difficulty articulating and swallowing. Not much fun.

After eighteen months of chasing a diagnosis (that's another stoooooory) and trying to heal myself with exercises and acupuncture, I discovered in late April this year that the culprit is a large brain tumour.

I've named her Mallory. She is a Vestibular Schwannoma, also known as an Acoustic Neuroma. The docs think she must have been growing for 10-15 years to get so large. She measures 3.3 cm x 2.9cm. Mallory's a chunky lass! Amazing to me that it took so long for her presence to be felt.

Thankfully Mallory is non-cancerous but has grown quite rapidly of late. She is in a position which not only has the potential to block the essential draining of cerebral-spinal fluid but also to cause increasing damage, dysfunction and eventually be "inconsistent with life."

After nearly three months of consultation with various experts, we have opted for the following treatment plan in two stages:

Treatment Stage One: The brain surgeon at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane will "de-bulk" the tumour under a general anaesthetic on 22 July.

The procedure will take around 12 hours!

De-bulking is the partial, instead of complete removal of the tumour; the aim is to increase the chance of preserving my hearing on that side and lessen the risk of damage to facial and other nerves.

I will spend up to two weeks in hospital. Following this, they tell me I will need 3-6 months off work to recuperate from the surgery. Eeep!

Treatment Stage Two: The remainder of Mallory will be zapped by non-invasive CyberKnife Radiotherapy at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, about three months after the surgery, depending on the pace of my post-op recovery.

The last vestiges of Mallory will wither and die over eighteen months to two years, monitored by MRI scans every six months to ensure the procedure has been successful.

"Don't you come back no more, Mallory!"

Can you please chip in to help us financially survive the 3-6 months we need for me to recover fully from the surgery/treatment?

Thank you so much. Your support is deeply appreciated.