Albany Creek student Katie Jones in battle against rare cancer

A young Albany Creek student has gone from lifting weights to being confined to a wheelchair in the space of a week after she was struck down by an incredibly rare cancer.

Katie Jones at her home in Brisbane. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Albany Creek student Katie Jones went from lifting weights to being confined to a wheelchair in the space of a week after being struck down by an incredibly rare cancer.

The 20-year-old university student was enjoying her studies, two jobs and a busy social life until her world suddenly turned upside down.

“Obviously, my life turned over so quickly,” she said.

“I went from going to uni full time and working two jobs causally to suddenly being in so much pain that I couldn’t do any of those things.

“I went from lifting weights in the gym one week and then the next week, I was paralysed in my left leg.”

Katie Jones (seated) with her sister Rebecca at their home in Albany Creek. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Ms Jones said tests confirmed she had a rare type of cancer in a rare location.

Her doctor described the odds of both things happening as “one per cent and one per cent”.

After she began experiencing pain in May last year she went through two months of testing, anxiously awaiting results.

“I’d started having a little bit of on and off, like neuropathic nerve-type pain and like a bit of back pain,” Ms Jones said.

“I’ve been seeing a physio for a few months, but she didn’t really know what she was dealing with.

“Even though I was coming to her with these symptoms, they were getting worse with each session.

“Then all of a sudden I had this really intense pain that would go down my leg.

“I’d been seeing a different GP (general practitioner) and she said, ‘you’re young’ or ‘there’s probably no point getting any scans’.

“(But) at that point I could not walk. I was in excruciating pain.

“I finally got another opinion from another physio and he told me it was the worst case of neuropathy-related nerve pain (he had seen).

“We got the MRI the next day and I found out I had a tumour.”

She also attended several hospitals, but none of the doctors were able to tell her what was wrong until the MRI results came back.

“Sometimes we found that people wouldn’t take (her claims about) the pain seriously as what I was saying it was,” she said.

“I was in so much pain. I wasn’t sleeping.”

Finally, Ms Jones’ current oncologist broke the news that she had a malignant tumour, although a specific diagnosis was still proving elusive.

Since then she has endured eight months of chemotherapy, 31 radiation sessions and several hospital admissions.

Rebecca Jones (left) with her sister Katie. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Her sister Rebecca started a fundraiser recently to help with medical costs which has raised nearly $10,000 so far.

“Mum has had to reduce her hours at work and I’ve quit my job in order to support Katie during this time,’’ Rebecca said.

“We are asking for your help to fund some of the costs of Katie’s hospital treatment.

“We will use this money towards the cost of medications, parking and meals for the family. “She will require several forms of aids such as a wheelchair, knee scooter and crutches permanently.’’

After months of consultations and surgery, Ms Jones was now able to stand and walk with knee braces and a crutch.

Despite her ordeal she has begun advocating for other young people battling serious illness.

“Now I’m a big advocate for all of my friends — if you feel like something’s off in your body, get checked,” she said.

“The best case scenario is a doctor’s appointment and maybe half an hour of your life wasted, but it’s better than the worst case scenario (not detecting a serious illness until too late.”

To help Katie donate here.