Elizabeth Pickworth, Optimal Care Pathway for Rare Cancers Board Member at Rare Cancers Australia, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“This photo was taken a day after my 32nd birthday after my first 20 hour surgery for a rare stage IV cancer.
I was diagnosed with a rare stage IV cancer at the end of 2018 at the age of 31 and have been on multiple lines of treatment including another 20 hour surgery where the cancer spread to my spine and I was operated on before I lost the ability to walk.
I’ve been on multiple lines of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and have lost count the many times I’ve lost my hair.
I was told in May this year that I would have less than 6 months to live and that I could choose a treatment that had no evidence of working as I had exhausted all options and it would require me to come into hospital every week for treatment or just live the next few months preparing for the inevitable and let nature take its course.
My husband and I cried but I said to my oncologist ‘I want to try it all. I just want to give it a shot because I have nothing to lose.’
By a miracle, I am still here. I have been in and out of hospital multiple times due to infections, most recently I got out of hospital on Wednesday from pneumonia but I still worked and I have my own business.
I have outlived my terminal diagnosis because I kept on going, I look after myself within all the 6 domains of resilience.
I started my own business and along with being a Rare Cancer Patient Advocate, I am a certified Resilience Coach.
I believe in the life changing power of resilience. I know that in life, we don’t always have it easy but we can learn the strategies to keep on going despite adversity.
If you ever feel like you don’t know how you’re going to pull through, I coach a program called ‘Facing It’ and it can help you face any challenges that come your way.
Get in touch with me at [email protected]”
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