Natalie’s Cancer Battle supported by Dry July funds

As a scientist, Natalie Counihan lives by logic, so when a bike ride left the Ocean Grove resident short of breath last September she assumed she was unfit or coming down with a cold.

The reality was the wife and mother of two was in the throes of Hodgkin Lymphoma, a revelation that led her to the Andrew Love Cancer Centre.

“The night after the bike ride I had a bit of pain when I took a deep breath, I thought this feels a bit like something more, maybe pneumonia, so I went to the GP the next day,” she said.

“He said you probably have pneumonia here’s some antibiotics but let’s take an x-ray just to be sure. I remember saying to him specifically ‘are you sure that’s not overkill?’; he’s like ‘let’s just do it’ so I went and got an x-ray.

“I didn’t think anything else of it and then I got a phone call from the doctor’s surgery to come in the next day. The next morning, the doctor said the results showed I could have cancer, that there was a mass in my chest.”

A whirlwind ensued over the next few weeks with a CT scan, biopsy surgery and subsequent testing which determined Natalie had Hodgkin Lymphoma, a blood cancer.

“I didn’t google anything. I didn’t want to do that because with any type of cancer out there there’s survival rates but to me if I saw a survival rate that’s the percentage I’m going to see my kids go to school,” she said.

“I didn’t want to know that number, I didn’t want to know if I’ve got a 50 per cent chance of seeing my kids in grade two, I didn’t want to know any numbers.”

On December 27 last year, Natalie began an intensive six-month course of chemotherapy that saw her attend Barwon Health’s Andrew Love Cancer Centre on a weekly basis.

“It was two rounds of an intensive chemo and then a pet scan to see how things went, then another two one-month rounds followed by another pet scan. At that point the cancer had gone, I was in remission so then another two months just to clear up any remaining microscopic traces,” she said.

“The first time I walked into Andrew Love it was like this other world I didn’t know existed, you walk in and it’s pretty horrible, it’s not a nice place to be really. You look around and see everyone sick and you know you have to be there, it’s just not pleasant.”

Natalie said despite her initial discomfort she was amazed at how many supportive services Andrew Love had to offer besides just the medical care.

“They have a lot of side therapies, things like cook books, they offer wigs, there’s free beanies. It just makes a horrible experience even a tiny bit better, which makes all the difference.

“Last year’s Dry July funded a masseuse that came into the oncology ward, she came once a week and gave free massages to patients. That was probably my best experience in hospital because everyone else is pricking you and feeling you and here was this amazing soft touch.”

Barwon Health Foundation’s Sara Bonnici said Dry July raises funds nationally to support adults living with cancer through patient comfort and care.

“Each year over 2,400 people in our region are diagnosed with cancer. All funds raised through the 2018 Dry July campaign will support a number of programmes and facilities at Barwon Health’s Andrew Love Cancer Centre,” she said.

“Programs include nutrition information and cooking demonstrations and printing of cookbooks made by the community kitchen program, carer support, exercise physiology, physio, a yoga instructor and equipment, oncology massage therapy and art therapy and exercise therapy for patients on our oncology ward.

“Last year Dry July, including the successful grants, raised over $156,000 for patient comfort and care. At this stage the Andrew Love Cancer Centre’s Dry July campaign has raised over $41,000 and we aim to reach $55,000.”

Natalie has now returned to work as a scientist at Deakin University and said even though she didn’t participate in this year’s fundraiser in the future she will.

“I’m a lot more aware of what they’re fundraising for now and will definitely look at doing some fundraising in the future. I didn’t do Dry July this year I did Dry half year instead,” she said.

“I would definitely encourage people to get behind Dry July any way they can. The mental side of having those extra services available was really amazing.”

For more information and to donate go to dryjuly.com and select Andrew Love Cancer Centre.