Faye's Story
While Faye was in the midst of enjoying a holiday with her family, the furthest thing from her mind was a cancer diagnosis.
Yet Faye who was rarely unwell knew something was not right when she woke up vomiting two mornings in a row. Initially, she thought it might be a tummy bug and waited until she returned home before visiting her doctor.
Faye and her family were left devastated when Faye was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
As you may already know cancer doesn’t discriminate and its symptoms can show up at any time, even when you are on holidays. Of course, no matter when you receive the news, it’s overwhelming and often comes as a complete shock.
Cancer was the last thing Faye and her family expected. Instead of returning to her work and spending time with her children following her holiday, Faye spent the next few weeks going from specialist to specialist.
As a parent, she was afraid for her children – would they lose their mum? She remembers telling her husband, Paul, “I’d better get on with treatment. I have too much to live for.”
Faye embraced a positive outlook as she began treatment. Drawing every ounce of hope she could find as she embarked on her treatment plan. Faye had chemotherapy, and then an allogeneic bone marrow transplant. Faye was fortunate to find a transplant donor in her sister, Barbara.
While a cancer journey is never easy, for Faye and her husband Paul, finding a home-away-from-home at one of Fight Cancer Foundation’s accommodation centres meant that they could live near the hospital during her treatment.
Your support keeps families together.
The importance of being close to the hospital was never more evident than when Faye was so sick one night that Paul had to wheel her over the road to the hospital because an ambulance was unable to attend.
When you make a donation to Fight Cancer Foundation, we will put your gift towards continuing to provide families with comfortable accommodation close to their treating hospital and our other important support programmes.
Faye believes the support of having her family close helped her stay positive.
Today, Faye is cancer-free and preparing for her next holiday with her husband.
Hope can have a huge impact on someone’s cancer journey and the the hope that comes from having your loved ones close can give you the support you need.
Please donate a vital gift to give someone like Faye the strength they need to fight against cancer – their family by their side.