As a registered nurse, Kylie has experience across various healthcare environments, including hospitals, communities, prisons and aged care. She admits she worked herself to the bone in her last position at aged care. She notes it can be challenging to care for others as there is pressure from the media, family member expectations, and a lack of staff. This took a toll on Kylie as she poured her heart into her work and prioritised those in her care over herself.
At home, the responsibilities didn’t end. She is a loving mother to 2 daughters with her husband of 20 years. With everything on her plate, she exercised little, utilised wine as a stress reliever, and simply felt exhausted. During this time, Kylie came across a lump in her left breast. After completing work, she got checked out by a GP, which ended in a mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy. All of which confirmed triple negative cancer.
This aggressive type of cancer is resistant to hormone therapy and is often found in younger people. This was the news no one ever wanted to hear. However, Kylie took herself off to an oncologist and commenced weekly infusions of chemotherapy and immunotherapy as part of a drug trial.
This time was difficult for a multitude of reasons. Kylie described feeling poisoned and nauseous, her skin feeling like wax, and her fingers and toes numb as nerves were damaged. It was difficult for her young family to experience their mother being so unwell and different from her usual self. Living in the regions also meant that Kylie had to rely on friends, as no family lived nearby, to get her to and from chemotherapy sessions in Bunbury (over two and a half hours return), which sometimes took over 3 hours to complete.
On Boxing Day that year, she ended up in Royal Perth Hospital with an infection (febrile neutropenia), and any condition can kill when someone’s immune system is destroyed by chemo. The after-effects of the treatment were extensive, as Kylie’s thyroid was destroyed, meaning she requires medication for the foreseeable future to ensure its functionality. However, thankfully, the cancer was also destroyed.
Upon completion of treatment, Kylie had a double mastectomy (both breasts removed) and a reconstruction to limit the possibility of the cancer returning. Whilst Kylie had top-tier private health coverage, this cost over $20,000 out of pocket in the private system. However, the alternative was at least a three-year wait time in the public system.
During treatment, Kylie relied on the support of her friends and the community, notably the River Angels. This is a volunteer organisation founded by Lynda Donovan to support families impacted by cancer in the Margaret River region. The organisation assisted with food, cleaning, fuel, pharmacy and grocery trips, whilst also bringing a little light into dark times with hampers at Christmas time. Kylie also found emotional support from those within the organisation as she felt comfortable speaking to them and expressing her emotions as she tried hard to stay strong around her family. Furthermore, they set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ for Kylie’s surgery which raised $7000, an incredible help towards the enormous bill. The organisation also funded special yoga courses suitable for cancer patients as movement is important, but regular yoga classes are just too much when you’re that unwell. The support from the community was incredible, Kylie and her family are immensely grateful for their generosity and care.
Kylie hopes to encourage other women living regionally to stay on top of their health checks. “Don’t put things off, and don’t put yourself last.” It is so common for women, particularly those living rurally, to place their needs below the needs of others. “Never feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness or failure.”
She advises contacting the Cancer Council in Busselton and Solaris in Bunbury. They offer massage reflexology and reiki, which Kylie found helpful. Visualisation was also an element that Kylie found very effective in her fight against cancer. She visualised fighting cancer and imagined her body defeating it whilst remembering “we are part of a much larger picture and our connection to the earth and beyond can help.” She fostered this outlook with the use of meditation.
Since her cancer diagnosis, Kylie’s perspective has changed. She’s felt the gravity of life and understood that she might not be around for a long time, so she hopes to utilise her time to find joy. She has stopped working as a nurse on the floor in aged care and began training staff and partaking in community-based work. This career change allows her to prioritise herself, including participating in regular exercise as a stress release, rather than turning to alcohol.
Kylie feels lucky to be here and understands that life is challenging for everyone as we all deal with a range of mental, physical, health, financial, disability, grief, and so on. It’s simply essential to feel grounded and grateful for your life.
“When life doesn’t go as planned, you need to carry on putting one foot in front of the other and be grateful for the people in your life who care about you. We will all die one day, but while we still have life, we need to appreciate it, no matter its form.”