Sad side of cancer no one ever talks about

A young woman has revealed how she was forced to completely give up her autonomy after her “asthma” turned out to be something much worse.

A young woman has revealed a sad side of cancer that people rarely talk about.

At 18, Tara’s life began to change. Suddenly she was having night sweats and allergic reactions.

“I started doing a placement at a childcare centre. My parents got Covid. I didn’t get Covid, but, I got sick. I lost my voice. I got chest tightness. I had a temperature to the point I was shaking,” she told news.com.au.

A few weeks later, her cough was still lingering and the teenager was waking up in the middle of the night unable to breathe.

Tara was diagnosed with cancer at 18. Picture: Supplied

She was never tested, but several GPs said she needed to use a ventolin for asthma. At one GP appointment she was told she was taking too much ventolin, which had led to her chest tightness. Instead she was instructed to gargle aspirin for her throat.

“I called my sister and bawled my eyes out. I knew something was so wrong with me,” she recalled.

Her sister ended up recommending her own general practitioner. It was Tara’s “last hope”. She thought she had pneumonia or a really bad form of asthma. The GP took a blood test and the following day Tara had several missed calls while she was at work. When she got home, her mum told her she’d also received a call.

“I couldn’t book an appointment until Monday as it was after hours on a Friday, but I said I could wait. Unless I have cancer, it’s not that big of a deal,” Tara recalled.

At her Monday appointment she was ordered to get a chest X-ray. The technician was grumpy and unkind. After the appointment, however, they started acting more kindly towards her. It was Tara’s first clue something was seriously wrong.

She got a call soon after. She had a shadow on her lung. She was ordered to get a CT scan that same day.

Tara during her treatment. Picture: Supplied

Later that evening, Tara and her family were heading to dinner in the city. That’s when they got the phone call. The family were told that shadows on her lungs and neck were consistent with Lymphoma.

Tara didn’t know what that was. Her parents started crying. A biopsy would confirm if it was Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Then, the next step would be chemotherapy.

As soon as Tara heard that, she knew it was serious. The biopsy confirmed the cancer. It was stage two. She felt frustrated. Tara said there were so many opportunities for someone to pick up the cancer much sooner than it was.

She had to have 12 rounds of chemotherapy.

“My dad started documenting my chemotherapy, posting pictures online so friends and family could see how I was doing. I was so happy in (all the photos). If you’d talk to me, I was so positive,” she said.

Tara said she lost all of her autonomy and was around people all the time. She never had the time to process everything.

“I didn’t even cry about being diagnosed with cancer until two weeks after. And I don’t think I even cried about having cancer. I cried about fertility stuff,” she said.

She shared the surprising side of her treatment. Picture: Supplied

Many people going through chemotherapy are offered egg retrieval. However, Tara opted against it as she didn’t think her mental health was strong enough to handle it. At the same time having kids was so important to her.

During chemotherapy, Tara lost a lot of weight — around 30kg in three months. But due to steroid medication, she ended up gaining about 50kg in just eight weeks.

“I didn’t feel like myself. I was wearing wigs all the time. It wasn’t until the end of chemotherapy I stopped wearing a wig — and it was only because it was the middle of summer,” she said.

“My bald head was something I was so ashamed of.”

She said she didn’t look like she was sick. She’s been dealing with the results of the treatment. She’s been dieting for a year and a half and going to dieticians. She’s now looking into other measures. Tara doesn’t feel like herself as a result. It just reminds her of how much she’s lost due to her cancer. She’s also been diagnosed with PTSD as a result.

A month in her chemotherapy, Tara was introduced to Canteen. She was still convinced she didn’t need outside support. All she wanted was to do fun trips. At the end of Tara’s chemotherapy, she felt like she’d lost everything. Support had suddenly stopped. She felt isolated.

She's sharing her story as part of Canteen's Christmas Appeal. Picture: Supplied

“Everyone was celebrating. Like I was finishing chemo. I was so happy because everyone else was so happy, but as soon as the door to my room would shut I’d break down,” she said.

“I didn’t even know who I was. I’d lost everything to cancer and I knew I had to build that back up. I was convinced there was no life after cancer.”

That’s when she turned to Canteen in a bid to connect with people who knew what she was going through. Tara also advocated and spoke openly about her mental health journey. She was put in a leadership position. It helped Tara a lot.

Earlier this year, Tara had a scare about six months after her chemotherapy. There were signs in her neck, around her tonsils. It slowly started to grow and doctors decided to remove it as it was likely cancer.

Now, Tara has completed a qualification in pathology collection. She’s moved out with her partner. She’s still dealing with the negative side of it. But her mind has shifted a lot.

Tara is sharing her story in support of Canteen’s Christmas Appeal, which calls on Australians to raise funds to ensure that Canteen can continue to provide life-changing support to young people aged 12-25 who have been impacted by cancer. You can donate here.