‘I’m going to die’: Melissa Lewis’ battle with aggressive cancer inspires nursing scholarship

An Adelaide mum-of-three’s battle with an aggressive form of cancer has inspired a $30,000 scholarship in her honour for nursing students.

Adelaide mum-of-three Melissa Lewis thought she had a blocked milk duct when she felt a lump in her right breast while feeding her newborn son.

With the lump still there a year later she went to her doctor who confirmed the worst – breast cancer.

“I just couldn’t even fathom what was happening,” she said.

“I don’t think anyone thinks they’re going to get cancer.

“I’m a naturopath, I’m a yoga instructor, I practise mindfulness daily, I don’t even use plastic containers for my food because I’m concerned with BPA leaching through into my food. We don’t even own an microwave. We eat organic foods. The thought of breast cancer, I had no family history.”

Family photo at Mr Lewis’ 42nd birthday. Picture: Supplied by family

Melissa Lewis knew she about to lose her hair so she got it highlighted and had her makeup done before she and her family took family pictures. Picture: Supplied by family

Ms Lewis had a mammogram after discovering the lump but no tumours were found. If it wasn’t for her GP ordering an ultrasound to be sure, Ms Lewis would never have found the four cancerous tumours growing in her right breast.

The cancer cells within the tumours contained HER2 protein which is found in about one in five breast cancers. This meant Ms Lewis’s cancer was aggressive.

“I literally broke down in tears,” she said. “My initial thought was, I’m going to die and I’m never going to see my children grow up.

“You just feel like you can’t even breathe like you’re suffocating.

“Every morning the very first second I opened my eyes, it would be – I can’t believe I really have cancer. So terrified.

“I’d be holding my son or watching him play with his cars with no idea of what’s going on thinking, I don’t even know if you’re going to have a mum, and the sheer horror of thinking he won’t remember me.”

Melissa Lewis and her children. Picture: Supplied by family

Since her diagnosis last October Ms Lewis has gone through gruelling treatment including a mastectomy and chemotherapy. She is scheduled to have her ovaries removed next month.

“It’s a hard journey,” she said.

Now, a month away from a surgery to remove her ovaries, Ms Lewis’s oncologist said she was “cured”. “I can breathe again,” she said.

Ms Lewis and her employer, Australian natural skincare brand MooGoo, have launched a $30,000 scholarship with the Cancer Nurse Society of Australia.

The fund aims to further enhance the education of three oncology postgraduate cancer nurse students with three $10,000 prizes.

Melissa and her daughter Mavis. Picture: Supplied by family

“My oncology nurses have been a godsend and seen me at my most vulnerable points so my gratitude is beyond words,” Ms Lewis said.

“I suggested we could put something together and the opportunity to thank and show gratitude to all the nurses out there and couldn’t believe it when they suggested donating funds for a scholarship.”

Nursing students can apply for the scholarship until April 14. Successful recipients will be notified by May 26.