By KATRINA BRANDON
JOINING local mother, Amy in her cancer journey, Physipole Traralgon and Sale, Salty Lens Photography and Buckle Bunny Line Dancing hosted an event to help provide a bit of help to her family.
In April 2021, Amy was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer, which was discovered by accident when her doctor ordered blood tests and an ultrasound, suspecting pancreatitis.
On the morning of her ultrasound (a week after the blood tests and doctor’s visit), Amy was feeling better and considered cancelling, thinking she was fine. But her husband convinced her to go ahead with the scan.
She went alone, expecting a routine procedure. During the ultrasound, they unexpectedly scanned her bowel and discovered an eight centimetre lump on the right side of her colon.
They reassured her that it might be nothing, but asked her to return the next day for a CT scan with dye. That was the scan that completely changed her world and threw her life into a spin.
Currently, with few options for treatment, Amy is back on chemotherapy, restarting the FOLFOX regimen from 2021 in hopes of putting the cancer into remission again. She has just completed her seventh cycle of this chemotherapy. She is also on Oxaliplatin, which is nerve-damaging, and as a result, she is losing feeling in her fingers, toes, tongue and lips.
“We are fundraising for Amy, who’s a local lady, mummy through here,” Salty Lens Photography’s Jaimi Garner told the Express.
“All the funds are going to Amy and her kids. We’re running the raffle, and heaps of local businesses are putting in for the raffle – it’s nice to be able to raise some money in the community.”
Donations from the event and GoFundMe page are raised for Amy’s ongoing treatment, including therapies not covered by her hospital care, such as oxygen therapy and red light therapy, general bills and quality time with children.
Amy is currently undergoing her 38th round of chemotherapy and is in her third fight against cancer.
The fundraising event was held last Sunday (August 24) at PhysiPole Studios, Traralgon.
For more information, go to: https://www.bucklebunnylinedancing.com/unite-for-amy-s-fight, or to support the GoFundMe, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ncevgq-amys-fight-against-cancer
