Hobart mother Jodie Stacey is up for the cancer fight — again

Fighting a brain tumour at the age of 18 was one thing, but battling the cancer again nearly two decades later brings a whole new set of challenges for a Hobart mum.

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FIGHTING a brain tumour at the age of 18 was one thing, but battling the cancer again at 37 brings a whole new set of challenges for Hobart woman Jodie Stacey.

Mrs Stacey and her husband Pete have five children between them and, as her sister Amy Palmer attests, Jodie is the glue that holds the family together.

Mrs Stacey was just about to turn 18 the first time she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and the required surgery resulted in a month-long stay in hospital and more than two years of recovery.

“I went back to work fairly early on, but it was two or three years before I felt like myself again,” Mrs Stacey said.

Mum of five Jodie Stacey, right, alongside sister Amy Palmer. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Far from the days when she was a relatively carefree teenager, Mrs Stacey said her main worry now was her family, after she was again diagnosed with a central neurocytoma this month.

She is booked in for lifesaving surgery at the Royal Hobart Hospital on October 15, which again poses major risks relating to balance, movement, sight and speech.

“I’m more scared and worried of the effects it’s going to have on my family,” she said.

“When I was 17 or 18 I had my mum to look after me and now I am the mum.

“The kids shouldn’t have to worry about their mum.

“I’ve told them I’m going to look a bit scary after the surgery and I won’t look like ‘Mum’ because I might not be able to make proper eye contact and my speech might be slurred.”

After the surgery, doctors will know how aggressive the cancer is and whether chemotherapy or radiation therapy is required. While Mrs Stacey maintains her matter-of-fact facade during the day, it is at night when the anxiety starts.

“That’s when I start tossing and turning. The worry for me is if something does happen to me, the impact on the kids,” she said.

Ms Palmer has set up a GoFundMe page for her sister and the family, to help with rent and living expenses while Pete, who works for the Hobart City Council, and Jodie, who is a disability support worker, take time off work.

“She is a real warrior,” Ms Palmer said of her sister, who also battled cervical cancer four years ago and underwent a hysterectomy.

The fundraiser page is at: www.gofundme.com/f/jodie039s-fight