A journey of resilience

In 2019, Carlyn received a call from her mum, Heather. She’d noticed a lump but delayed seeing a doctor until it grew too large to ignore. After some tests, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Shortly after, in 2020, the first indications that something was wrong with Carlyn’s father, Alan, appeared in blood test results. To understand the extent of the issue, his doctor ordered followup CT and PET scans. These scans first showed that he had fractured a rib, but they also uncovered something far more sinister – multiple myeloma.

“All of this happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made everything harder. I was only able to travel to Bendigo to see my dad a handful of times, until he was hospitalised for the last two weeks of his life. I think I emotionally detached. I almost pretended it wasn’t happening, as a way of coping.” Carlyn said.

The news came as a shock, and the family was unprepared for how aggressive the cancer was. Just ten months after his diagnosis, Alan sadly passed away.

Unfortunately, less than a year later, Carlyn’s world was about to be turned upside down again.

In 2021, Carlyn’s husband, Don, noticed a lump and had it checked by his doctor, who dismissed his concerns. When it continued to grow, Don sought a second opinion. Further scans were ordered, and within days he was diagnosed with stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“At that point, I was just angry at the doctor, angry at the universe. I remember saying I must have done something terrible in my past life. How could this be happening again?” said Carlyn.

Carlyn’s daughter, Stella, was only 13 at the time, and she was particularly affected by the news. She had only recently lost her grandfather and was terrified that she might lose her dad as well.

Thankfully both Don and Heather made a full recovery.

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