Clean slate - by melenzbee83 on madeit

Clean slate - by melenzbee83 on madeit

mexico

hi guys,
well i really dont know where to begin, i just got out of hospital a little while ago after spending 4 whole months there. I had a touch and go experience, emergeny surgery and am physically, emotionally and mentally changed forever!

Australia cant do anything for me except for chemo more chemo and more chemo! So in 3 weeks im off to mexico!!!

will keep you posted on my getting ready and daily blogs while over there!

Channel 7 News Story

Please view my Channel 7 news story.

ACCOUNT DETAILS

So my friend Katie has been very busy. We now have 2 local charity groups behind us supporting my cause. We have been fortunate enough for one of them to set up a trust account for us.

To make a donation simply go into any NAB (National Australia Bank) and quote- Ballina Lions Club- A Cure for Mel.

Overseas people wanting to help please email me melenzbee@hotmail.com for further details on how you can do this!

PAPERWORK IS ABOVE ONCOLOGIST

So for people with cancer or someone who has had cancer would know you dont get much off our government. . . a once off $300 payment that you cant use on medical bills! yelp thats it! Plus in order to then allow someone in your family for carers pension etc you have to literally fill out a mountain of paperwork which also requires the oncologists signature to prove you did in fact have the cehmotherapy and did in fact travel to brisbane, pay for accomodation etc.

So I finished chemo last September and we take the forms to my oncologist last October, travel the 3 hours and pay for the appointment. It is now march 2010 and I have rang several times to chase these forms. 2 months ago they were still in the bottom of his intray, last time i rang they could be lost! So today i'd had enough and i just rang the director of the hospital who is now finally following it up so that we can get some money back and use for future treatment!

"ANOTHER STUFF UP BY A GP"

seriously. . .who oversees doctors oncologists etc? I was meant to wait a month to get my ca125 done, (ovarian cancer test)however i was feeling unwell so i thought nope i know my body ill have an early one so i rang my onoclogists receptionist and said i have a form but do i need to add bloods etc as well (kidney, liver, infections etc) just to check as i had been unwell. She said no. So me being me, i added them. Had the test thursday. get a phone call friday off GP to say kidneys not working and that i would most likely have to go to brisbane today for surgery that was at 9am. He said i would be hearing from him or my oncologist. Did i ever hear from my GP again? NO! If being sick was not enough and the pain i was in I then had to chase up my urologist which makes more sense to me (seeing it was my kidneys, but hey im not a doctor) who was fuming because my GP who found the concern never rang! Someone must be responsible for follow up! seriously! all doctors seem to say but i rang such and such and they said they would follow up. . . in my opinion my GP who found the concern should of made sure that someone got in touch with me and that i was in fact on my way to brisbane and not dead! somewhere! SO i called this morning and thought id ask him what happened. . .nope no apology just well i rang another doctor so off my hands! What is this world coming too!

HELP FUND A CURE

So if you have read my story below you have a good idea on how hard the last 4 years have been on me and my closest family and friends. I finished my intense chemotherapy treatment on 1st Septemeber 2009, I had a PET-CT just before christmas which showed something. Since then i have undergone a number of biopsies to only confirm the worst outcome- persistent cancer which has started playing up as soon as the chemo stopped. Now this is where people need to understand why ovarian cancer is such a deadly disease. currently the treatment available is unsatisfactory and not as researched or funded as other cancers. So basically if you reoccur especially within 6 months "the doctors" assume that your disease is going to keep doing this i.e- you will need to remain on chemo for the rest of your "short" life. As you can understand being just 26 this is clearly not an option and not something i am going to settle for. My nutritionist who is an amazing doctor told me there is always "hope!" I honestly believe that.. .there is always hope. I get that oncologists have to be negative its their job but thats where i say right back to them its my job to remain hopeful and positive because at the end of the day. . .they are just like me. . human! they do not have god like abilities and they do not know anything for certain. If history predicts anything I clearly know my body better than any doctor or test can offer! So here we are.. . I have a friend being treated at a clinic in America for ovarian cancer who offers patients like us the chance for a curative approach rather than pallitative. It uses drugs approved by the FDA however they have not been approved specifically for ovarian cancer. Avastin at the moment is an exciting drug however is only approved for bowel cancer patients yet the bowel is often the first organ that ovarian cancer attacks. This drug costs $2,500 every 3 weeks and often women have to stay on it for years. With the addition of other drugs ths clinic costs around $15,000 a MONTH! So with the help of others, my friends are rallying together to fundraise money towards my cure and treatment! While also raising awareness about ovarian cancer- please know a pap smear does NOT detect ovarian cancer! it only detects cervical cancer.