For my mentor on the final run-through of the manuscript – the real work – Kristina Olsson, you are a wise writer and a joy to be around, thank you. To my publisher, Alexandra Payne, and editor, Ian See, from UQP – thank you for taking a punt on me, an unknown voice among many writers trying to get their work published. To Kate O’Donnell, who delicately took my manuscript into her editor’s hands and made insightful, spot-on comments on what worked and what didn’t as a ‘first reader’ – thank you.
It took knocking on the door, over many years, to finally have one night where the stars aligned – a salon reading where the right people were in the room listening: Krissy Kneen (who introduced me to my agent, Jane Novak) and Jill Eddington (newly minted CEO of UQP) – thank you.
Resources
These resources helped me during my cancer regimen, pre- and post-treatment:
• The Wesley Hospital Choices Cancer Support Centre matched me with a woman a bit further along the treatment regimen than I was, so I could discuss what was happening to me with someone who knew. Choices has a network of professionals that can offer expert clinical advice, specialist peer support, yoga and art classes, bra fittings (on-site) for women after mastectomy, and many other important services. All free!
• Mater Chicks in Pink provided funds for a nanny to care for my son when he was in hospital and I couldn’t attend to him. They ran a Mindful Parenting program for women who had children and were going through breast cancer treatment. I met my Right Wingers (support group) there – three other women with right breast cancers: Briony, Katie and Linda. These women have become a lifeline for me. We share a unique bond forged through very difficult times and remain a constant support to one another, catching up regularly to check in on how we’re faring.
• Ten sessions provided (FYI: this is per calendar year, folks) by Medicare to see a psychologist.
• A hospital psychiatrist, free of charge, accessed through the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for the length of my chemotherapy – she saw me on ward during treatments.
• Mummy’s Wish provided funding for a house cleaner during part of my chemotherapy, so I didn’t have to clean the house while trying to care for my son.
• A family GP: get one who is the right fit for you, and who also knows lots of stuff and advocates for you to receive the services available in Australia.
• A road bike helped me to get fit again and feel my body come back to life.
• Cancer Council Queensland provided funding for my synthetic wig ‘Tiana’ (purchased through Starkles).
• Look Good Feel Better offers a free one-off workshop for women on dealing with the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment (the workshop includes free make-up).
• The Ride to Conquer Cancer, benefitting the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute: my team, Breast Friends for a Cure, focussed on raising money for breast and gynaecological cancer research as a way to give back to the science community that kept us alive. The ride also created a focus for exercising regularly. I ended up working for CauseForce, who run the Ride and Walk events, as my first job after my treatments finished and my son was in school.
• The Weekend to End Women’s Cancers: I was volunteer captain of the caboose team of cyclists on the walk route, providing support and encouragement to the walkers who were raising money by taking part in the event. Connecting with a cancer community helped a great deal during this period of time. It gave a sense of meaning to what had just happened to me and others.
• Denise Stewart, whom I call a magical witch for her capacity to show me how to stretch my scars to fix cording and stiffening after my numerous surgeries, is a well-informed and proactive professional in her field of occupational therapy. I accessed her services through the Mater Private Breast Cancer Centre.
• Breast Cancer Network Australia provided a My Journey Kit (a free information pack), which I turned to regularly to read and check what I was being told by doctors.
• I was a control participant on the BETH clinical trial, which tested if the drug Bevacizumab plus Trastuzumab (Herceptin) increased survival rates for women with HER2-positive breast cancer. The research nurse checked me regularly and was a go-to person if I had questions about side effects. I felt closely monitored, which helped alleviate anxiety, and my involvement contributed to furthering the knowledge around breast cancer and its treatments.
• Family and friends: build a scaffolding around you of people whom you’re comfortable with and love – people you can ask for help, knowing you’ll receive it!
Bibliography
ABC Radio National, In Conversation: Elizabeth Blackburn, radio program, 15 March 2007. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/inconversation/elizabeth-blackburn/3395776
Anderson-Dargatz, Gail, The Cure for Death by Lightning, Vintage Canada, Toronto, 1997.
Armstrong, Lance, and Jenkins, Sally, It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, Penguin, New York, 2000.
Broyard, Anatole, ‘The Patient Examines the Doctor’, Intoxicated by My Illness: And Other Writings on Life and Death, Fawcett Columbine, New York, 1992, pp. 36 and 44. Excerpts on pp. 165 and 180 copyright © 1992 by the Estate of Anatole Broyard. Used by permission of Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Penguin Random House LLC for permission.
Buxton, Nigel, The Road to Fleet Street: An Autobiography, New Barn Books, Great Britain, 2015.
Calvino, Italo, Invisible Cities (tr. William Weaver), Vintage Books, London, 1997, p. 68. Excerpt on pp. 178–179 copyright © 1972 by Giulio Einaudi editore, s.p.a. Torino, English translation copyright © 1983, 1984 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Reprinted
