NO MATTER THE DISTANCE
Sue lives in Nyngan on a 10,000-acre farm over 600km away from The Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick. Sue and her family grow wheat and chickpeas and breed sheep and cattle.
Following a fun evening with friends and a full belly in tow, Sue went upstairs at about 10 pm to have a shower and relax. Immediately Sue realised something was not right. Her stomach was not just the typical bloating she sometimes experiences.
Alarm bells started to go off as Sue began to think of her father who died of pancreatic cancer and his symptoms were bloating.
‘I looked like I was 7 months pregnant!’
The next morning Sue went to her local GP where she had blood tests, x-rays, and various other tests. Over the next three weeks, further tests including a CT scan and an ascites tap of the fluid in her abdomen were performed and it was then that
Sue’s worst fears were confirmed – she had ovarian cancer.
Sue’s friend recommended that she come to Sydney to The Royal Hospital for Women. The Royal is the only dedicated women’s hospital in NSW and provides the most specialised care to hundreds of women with ovarian cancer each year.
No sooner was Sue’s appointment made for the following Monday, Jennie Duggan the Clinical Nurse Consultant, called Sue to talk her through everything she needed to know. She provided Sue with all the support she needed.
"From that phone call, I knew Jennie was the lady I needed in my corner. You know when you are up against the battle of your life, you need a Jennie in your corner.”
Sue spent a week at The Royal undergoing more tests where it was then confirmed the extent of her cancer. Stage 4 ovarian cancer.
The Royal’s Dr. King Man Wan and Dr. Yeh Chen Lee explained that she would need three rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, and another three rounds of chemotherapy, followed by medication for a couple of years.
In absolute disbelief thinking she had less time than that with a stage 4 diagnosis, Sue exclaimed ‘A couple of years?’ and Dr King assured her that she would respond well to the chemotherapy.
Meeting the staff and her medical team on the first day of being admitted to The Royal, Sue felt relief, support, and strength in the direction and plan of her treatment.
While Sue felt more confident in the journey she was about to undertake, it still didn’t come without its challenges and setbacks. With some of the wettest weather NSW had seen for some time in 2022, the farm was completely flooded, jeopardising Sue’s last chemotherapy appointment.
Her neighbour came to her rescue with a helicopter to get her out of her flooded property so she could make it to Sydney for her chemotherapy.
Sue’s sheer determination and strength carried her through some of the toughest days of her life. During Sue’s healing journey, she had 4.5 liters of fluid drained from her stomach; 740ml of fluid drained from around her right lung; surgery to remove her omentum, appendix, cervix, uterus and all visible cancer.
Sue’s veins collapsed and therefore underwent surgery to have a port surgically inserted, and lastly, two days before her mid-chemotherapy surgery was scheduled, Sue contracted COVID-19 rendering her unable to undergo the surgery.
‘I was a mess; I didn’t know what I was going to do’.
With so much for Sue to worry about, The Royal’s surgical team were there for Sue every step of the way.
One phone call to Ellen Barlow Clinical Nurse Consultant from the surgical team, Sue was reassured this change of plans would not alter the end result. “Ellen was so calm and re-organised everything”, emphasizing to Sue that all she needed to do was go back to Nyngan, rest and recoup and everything would be fine. This was all the encouragement Sue needed to overcome this hurdle.
The Royal Hospital for Women’s chemotherapy room is the last site-specific chemotherapy room in NSW. The room is a special place for hundreds of women a year going through what is often the most challenging time of their lives.
“Being in the chemo room surrounded by just women was a great comfort and quite bonding... we would share special stories and I found it really comfortable every time that I walked in. Being surrounded by women and the beautiful nurses”
With all that Sue endured, she was kind enough to selflessly give back to the research team here at The Royal by donating her ascites fluid for the team to continue their efforts in creating an early detection test for future patients.
Just like Sue, there are thousands of women who travel to The Royal each year to receive the best possible care when they need it most.
