Woman diagnosed with aggressive blood cancer after taking fertility test
The Sydney local was planning her dream wedding when the sinister discovery was made. Now, her loved ones have begun fundraising.
The loved ones of a Sydney woman have raised over $140,000 after a fertility test revealed a horrifying discovery.
Hannah Thomas had just turned 30 when she took a fertility test last March.
Channel 7 reported that she was in the midst of planning her dream wedding with her now husband, Simon, when things took a turn.
After a fertility test found that she had swollen lymph nodes Mrs Thomas was quickly sent to St Vincents hospital to undergo chemotherapy.
Further testing had revealed she had an aggressive blood cancer known as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
Mrs Thomas had been called back in to see the doctor within the same afternoon prior to the diagnosis.
“So, it was obviously concerning, but we are glass-half-full kind of people so we weren’t too worried,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.
She spent two months in St Vincents hospital to battle the cancer, managing to pull off her dream wedding after the treatment concluded.
“It was such a lovely time for us to all come together,” Mrs Thomas told Channel 7.
“In your bridal dreams you always want your husband to cry but that day all our bridal party teared up when I walked down the aisle … so it was honestly beyond magical.
“For once, my day was filled with happy tears.”
Prior to the wedding she had a “shave day” in a park with her loved ones.
Some even shaved their own heads.
“That really gave me the courage to be able to do it myself,” Mrs Thomas said.
“And it gave our friends a chance to be there with us and do something for us in a situation when no one knew what to do.”
Afterwards, Mrs Thomas’s friends made a wig for her out of her shaved off hair, which she was able to wear on her special day.
However, things took a downward turn once again, and Mrs Thomas had to undergo a bone marrow transplant.
Just two months later, though, the cancer returned.
Now, one of her only remaining options is a clinical trial in Singapore.
“It feels really scary to have to leave the country for treatment,” she said.
“Because all our support networks are here.”
However, the treatment is set to cost $400,000.
A close friend of Mrs Thomas has set up a Go Fund Me page to help raise money for her treatment.
“Anyone who knows Hannah knows she is an absolute saint, a best friend to many of us, a wonderful wife to Simon, a daughter, a sister, an aunty and a superhuman who has faced every challenge with a smile,” the Go Fund Me page, organised by Daniel Lewis reads.
“Over the past 19 months, Hannah has undergone gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a full bone marrow transplant and follow-up infusions.
“Unfortunately, after all that, her Leukaemia has returned.”
He added that the couple had applied for the Medical Treatment Overseas Program but were rejected as they don’t cover clinical trials.
“I’m hoping we can spread this far and wide so we can pull together to help Hannah raise the funds needed to travel to Singapore.
“Every dollar will bring us one step closer to Hannah getting the treatment she so desperately needs,” he wrote.
In a bid to help raise funds, Lewis will be taking part in an 80km Manly to Bondi coastal walk in two weeks.
Mrs Thomas’s sister will also be running a half marathon to raise money.
So far the fund is sitting at just over $140,000, just over a quarter of the $400,000 target.
“We have just been so blown away by all the generosity from people helping us, from friends to strangers and people we went to school with or worked with,” Mrs Thomas told Channel 7.
“We are just eternally grateful for everyone who has donated and helped us get this potentially lifesaving treatment.”
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She added that despite her situation, the support she’s received from loved ones has filled her with comfort and hope.
“Even though we are really devastated and really scared it fills you with so much hope having so many people believing that I can do it,” she said.
Mrs Thomas’s Go Fund Me page can be found here, with almost $259,000 left in the target.
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