Annelise Hudson shares her story with being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 27

Annelise Hudson has fought a rare breast cancer and lived to tell the tale. Read her story of resilience and how she advocates for young women’s health.

In the kitchen section of Alice Springs Bunnings, Annelise Hudson noticed something that would change the trajectory of her life.

She was just 26 at the time, and when she found a small lump on her breast, cancer was the furthest thing from her mind.

“I wasn’t really alarmed in the beginning but my partner said I should go see the doctor — so I had a good chat with the GP and she did a breast examination and a referral for an ultrasound.”

She remembers her doctor saying something to the effect of her age made it unlikely it was cancer.

Annelise Hudson recalls being told what it was like to be diagnosed with cancer at 26 years old. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

“So at the time, I was like, I’m 26 I’m invincible. I don’t have cancer.”

For a number of months Annelise lived in a state of denial, but eventually the lump got so big she decided to take up her referral for an ultrasound.

She knew something was wrong when the radiographer went silent and wouldn’t tell her anything until a doctor was in the room.

“I was so tired and so scared and I just remember the entire time I was like, I just want my mum,” she said.

The moment she received her diagnosis, time stood still.

“I put my head in my hands, and I cried, and I was rocking back and forth. And I just remember saying, Please don’t let me die. Please don’t let me die. Please don’t let me die.”

She was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of breast cancer, and immediate treatment was required.

Annelise and her partner made the decision to pack up their lives and head to Adelaide for her to get treatment.

Her cancer had progressed so far she was initially told they didn’t know whether treatment would cure her or just buy more time.

Annelise Hudson recalls being told what it was like to be diagnosed with cancer at 26 years old. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

“My friends are getting married, my friends are having babies. And you’re telling me that I’m going to go through the most extensive week of testing and only then can you tell me if I’m going to live,” Annelise recalls.

“It is a fear that I just don’t think people can properly articulate.”

“What is really horrendous about terminal illnesses is not the unexpectedness of it, it’s when you look at your family and you think, am I gonna miss this? Am I going to be alive next year or make it to Christmas?“

Thankfully, Annelise would live to see the next Christmas, with doctors catching the illness in the nick of time.

She undertook four “soul destroying months” of chemotherapy at the cancer centre in Alice Springs in which she lost every follicle of hair on her body.

“I went to Adelaide for surgery with one eyelash left on my face.”

But despite the harsh nature of the treatment and having to relocate to Darwin for another 15 months of chemo, Annelise said there were some bright moments of receiving care in the NT.

“(The nurses) were like my family for me and I said to them when I finished I never would have survived four months without them — they did more than their jobs required,” she said.

One of these nurses that was with Annelise for the whole journey in both Alice Springs and Darwin was acting clinical nurse manager Olivia Shields.

Despite the demanding and devastating nature of her job, Ms Shields wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

Olivia Shields - NT Young Achiever Awards

“I like walking the balance between medicine and the emotional, personal side of it,” she said.

“I saw it as an area that I could really grow in both directions, personally and medical knowledge.”

The NT has reported the lowest participation in breast cancer screening in the country according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, with just 36.4 per cent of eligible women taking part.

That number has steadily declined over time, with a peak participation rate of 38.3 per cent in 2016-17.

Ms Shields said it was vital that all women — young and old — took charge of their health, with breast cancer the most commonly diagnosed in Australia.

“Women should know what their breasts normally feel like,” she said.

“If they feel that something isn’t right, really advocate to their GPs and I encourage women to raise their voices if they do have concerns because early detection can lead to better outcomes”

Annelise said the care she received from Ms Shields and the other nurses in Darwin was more than she could have hoped.

“I walked into that Alan Walker Centre, and I thought I’m at Nightcliff Jetty, like I’m literally in my happy place out in the ocean or like out in the open space,” she said.

The wing at the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre when it was just opened. Picture: Justin Kennedy

“It doesn’t feel like you’re sitting in a chemotherapy suite.”

Annelise’s chemotherapy journey wrapped up in June this year, but unfortunately a lesion that was found this week means it is unclear if she is completely cancer-free.

“Unfortunately, I am now waiting to see if I have had a recurrence — there was a new lesion identified, which means that it’s not over,” she said.

“I just know that I’m too young to die from this so whatever comes of surgery in these results, I’ll fight it until my body can’t fight anymore.”

Her biggest takeaway from her experience was not just health-related.

“As corny as it sounds, you get one life here and it’s far too short to hold grudges, to not hug people twice, to not spend time with your friends and family because this is it,” she said.