In Nov 2004 I found a laceration at the back of my throat and went to my local GP. He referred me to another doctor who referred me to another doctor (too many doctors!).

The next day I was at my high school formal and I got a phone call. It was the doctor telling me I had to get to the hospital straight away. I went up to the hospital still in my formal suit!

"I didn't really understand what was happening."

The doctor came and told me what was really going on – that I had non-hodgkin’s lymphoma. I didn’t know what that was. I didn’t want them to tell me any more – I didn’t want to know about the treatment or anything – I just wanted it over and done with. They told me they were going to start me on chemo and radiation. I said “yep just do it” and what followed was 6 months of treatment.

"During this time it was like I was a different person."

I wasn’t myself, I couldn’t see my family because they were in a different city. I didn’t see much of my friends. When they heard I had cancer they all split – they thought they could catch it. At that time I wanted to die as I felt like I had lost everything. I lost my friends, I felt isolated, I couldn’t do the things I used to like play sport. I lost all my muscle tone and had to use a wheelchair, so I felt like I couldn’t do any normal things.

"It turned my life upside down."

I finished treatment in April 05 and could finally go home. When I got home I tried to go back to my normal life but my life wasn’t really the same anymore. Luckily y family were really supportive, they treated me like nothing had ever happened and I was still the same person. That was really important to me, to feel like I was still a normal person again. That’s what made me stop feeling like I wanted to die.

I also joined a support organisation when I was 22 which helped me realise there were other people out there who had similar experiences to me. I finally understood that I wasn’t on my journey alone and that

"there were other people who understood my story." 

Some things in my life will never be the same as they were (I still have to use a wheelchair, for instance). But I have learned that after cancer you can still live your life and make the most of it.