Written by Tiphanie Boyd
Before My Diagnosis:
I had just finished my Cert IV in Health (Nursing) and decided to continue with study. I enrolled into a bridging course at my local university, with the aim of becoming a Registered Nurse. I was enjoying studying with some friends I had made at TAFE. My son was in the university childcare about to start preschool the following year. Life was good!
I had a seizure out of the blue one morning and just like that, I couldn’t drive. “Never-mind”, I thought. Instead, I bought a bike with a child seat on the back and would get myself the 7km to university by bike. My doctor urged me to get an MRI as I had no history of epilepsy. This was scary, but little did I know, it was about to become my new normal.
The First MRI:
The MRI showed a small anomaly in my frontal lobe.
It didn’t look scary at the time, just a small area a shade lighter. This was my first step on a long and scary road. I was referred to a Neurologist for a diagnosis and started on anti-epileptics. My Neurologist informed me that I would need surgery or at least a biopsy before I could be diagnosed officially, and explained to me that I had 2 choices at this stage. The first option was to watch and wait to see if it would resolve by itself, or to have some surgery to explore a diagnosis. I was in my early 20s and terrified of surgery to my brain, so I naturally opted to wait and watch.
Life moved on, always with a lingering fear of what was going on in my brain, I didn’t finish university as the bike ride was too much daily, and my health wasn’t holding up. My son started Kindergarten. I started to get seizures more often, as the anti-epileptic drugs made me feel awful so I had stopped taking them.
The Second MRI & Diagnosis:
My next MRI showed a large mass in my frontal lobe. Surgery wasn’t optional anymore. I went and met with my Neurosurgeon and soon, was in Melbourne for surgery. It went well, with full resection, and to my surprise, no lasting deficits apart from some memory loss.
I came home with a diagnosis of Stage III Astrocytoma. I made a booking at the brand-new Albury-Wodonga cancer hospital to meet with a Neuro-oncologist to start radiation and chemotherapy.
Treatment:
The first meeting with my Neuro-Oncologist didn’t go well. I had been furiously researching my diagnosis and wanted to remain positive and try anything that might help. My Oncologist was too pragmatic for my liking, so I chose to pursue another doctor at the Peter Mac Centre in Melbourne and the associated Royal Melbourne Hospital. I completed the required radiation course over 6 weeks with adjuvant chemotherapy.
Today:
I feel driven to discover the reason behind my survival of an incurable cancer and want to use my survival to benefit others. This is why I have chosen to continue studying Nursing. I hope to one day work as a Research Nurse in a cancer hospital and have a meaningful impact on other cancer sufferers and their families.
Charlie blog is a SSAF initiative.
