Help support Mel and her family fight leukaemia

Thankyou for helping to raise funds for Mel and her family during this difficult time.

Please see a message from Mel below which outlines her journey so far…

In May 2022, I was diagnosed out of the blue with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) after experiencing a persistent sore throat. AML is an aggressive, devastating cancer of the bone marrow and rarely affects people in their 30s.

Within 24 hours of being diagnosed, I began intensive chemotherapy treatment at the Canberra Hospital. The side effects were brutal but the most heartbreaking part was being away from my wife and three beautiful children. My specialist hoped I would achieve remission after this and not need further treatment.

Even though I did achieve remission in September 2022, I unfortunately relapsed in March 2023. This meant I had to undergo a new round of intensive treatment. This stint in hospital was 40 days. I achieved remission again but this time the next step was a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) at Westmead Sydney. I was very fortunate to have multiple 100% donor matches on the worldwide database and to have a 50% match from my incredible younger brother Jay.

At the end of August 2023, I was again separated from my beautiful family to prepare for the BMT. Unfortunately, all the database matches fell through at the last minute, so the responsibility fell onto Jay’s shoulders. Jay did everything he was required to do to prepare for the donation and he provided me with the greatest gift – a chance at life. He says that other than a few aches and pains he had no other side effects.

I went through another brutal cycle of chemotherapy to get my body ready for the donor cells. Without those cells, I don’t know where I would be. While I am currently in remission again, we still have a long way to go. I have many side effects (graft vs host disease etc.) and every 6 months for the next 5 years l will have bone marrow biopsies to check if I’m still in remission.

This is why as a family we are so motivated to support Strength to Give and Be the Match. Two important organisations that facilitate bone marrow transplants.

Every 28 minutes someone in Australia is diagnosed with blood cancer and for many a transplant from a complete stranger is their only hope. Unfortunately, Australia ranks as one of the lowest nations willing to give the gift of life and we would love to see that increase. The sign-up process is painless, so please consider joining the donor registry.

If you are interested in becoming a bone marrow donor, and are between ages 18 and 35, please visit strengthtogive.org.au and register for a swab kit.

Finally, words cannot express how much we appreciate everyone who has supported us along this journey. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

With love,

Mel

A portion of the donations raised by this campaign will go to Strength to Give so we can support not only Mel but hopefully many others as well.

Please share this far and wide and give generously if you can. We understand life is a little tough for many at the moment but every little bit helps.

Thank you for your support xx