Personal cancer stories

Knowing about other people's personal experience of cancer can be a source of support and inspiration when you or someone you love is going through cancer treatment.

In this section, Cancer Council supporters share their stories.

If you have a personal experience of cancer you would like to share, we would love to hear from you.

Please email info@cancer.org.au if you would like to share your story.

Alastair McCausland

When 42-year-old marketing professional, Alastair McCausland, first noticed a small pimple on his face, he didn’t think it was a problem.

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Alison Newell

In 22 days, Alison was screened and treated for breast cancer, and declared cancer free.

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Andrew Barrington

After his own experience with lymphoma, Andrew decided to become a Cancer Connect volunteer.

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Annette Jones

Annette was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive ampullary cancer in her bile duct in July 2019.

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Barry Du Bois

A trip to the beach during Christmas gave Barry a much-needed wake up call.

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Bethany Kariys

Bethany was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 19

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Bev Drechsler

Bev is doing everything she can to help save lives lost to cancer.

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Bob Holden

Bob was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had full robotic prostate removal surgery

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Breanne Shaw

Breanne is passionate about using her experience to help support others with cancer.

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Brett Finneran

Brett's diagnosis of brain tumours when a teenager had a huge impact on his life.

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Carol Godfrey

Carol lost the love of her life, David, to a rare brain tumour in 2011

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Casey Barnes

Many Australian country rock music fans would be familiar with the name Casey Barnes, a 44-year-old singer and songwriter hailing from the Gold Coast.

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Claire Williams

Claire had been recently married when Pap test results indicated stage 1 cervical cancer,

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Craig Brewer

Craig noticed a little lump on the inside of his lip and was diagnosed with stage 2 skin cancer. Read more about his cancer story and how he dealt with his diagnosis

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Damien Macrae

Damien's suspicious mole turned out to be melanoma

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Doreen Flynn

Doreen watched three generations of her family fight cancer.

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Emma Gierschick

Emma discovered a lump in her left breast while in the shower.

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Emma Rackebrandt

Emma was diagnosed with a rare type of brain and spinal cord cancer.

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Garry Callaghan

Garry thought having a tan could help cover acne on his back.

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Ginger Gorman

Ginger's thyroid cancer diagnosis came out of the blue

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Grace Hamill

On the eve of her 17th birthday, Grace faced yet another melanoma

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Graham Jenkins

As an electrician, Graham did plenty of welding jobs with no control measures in place.

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Greer Worsley

Greer's mother's cancer story inspired her to fundraise in her memory.

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Jen Odonnell

Jen decided she wanted to invest in future funding to beat cancer

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Hayley Oakley

Given the placement of the cancer and its growth into the wall of her cervix, Hayley had to undergo a radical hysterectomy.

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Jenni Woods

Jenni's trip of a lifetime was cut short by an acute myeloid leukaemia diagnosis.

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Jessica Rusinko

Jessica lost both her parents to cancer. She bravely shared her story with us here

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Jim Maxwell

Jim noticed something unusual about a patch of skin on his face

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Jo Cockwill

After her experience with breast cancer, Jo Cockwill found a perfect cancer volunteer role.

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Joshua Bonello

Joshua discovered a lump on his testicle just before his 23rd birthday.

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Kellie Heritage

Kelly was 35 when she found a lump in her breast.

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Kevin Jarvis

Kevin discovered hard lumps under his nipple and was diagnosed with male breast cancer.

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Kimberley Brien

Kimberley was in her teens when she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.

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Kirsten Mccreghan

Kirsten was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and then breast cancer in 2015

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Kirsty Browne

Kirsty's cervical cancer experience shows the importance of the HPV vaccination and Cervical Screening Tests.

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Kirsty Wickens

Kirsty's son Mason was diagnosed with a rhabdoid tumour when he was five months old

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Lauren Poole

22 year old Lauren went from test results to surgery in less than 24 hours

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Louise's breast screening story

Louise is grateful she attended breast screening despite COVID-19 as her breast cancer was found early, when it was easier to treat.

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Mark Awburn

Just after his 50th birthday Mark Awburn received a National Bowel Screening test kit

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Mark Nye

Mark remained strong with positive thoughts after his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

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Matilda Wagenaar

Matilda was diagnosed with endometrial cancer at just 25

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Matt Kean

Prevention is better than cure

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Michael Birchall

Michael was 25 when he discovered he had Stage 4 Melanoma.

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Michael Wade

Participating in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program helped detect Michael's cancer early.

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Natalie Khoury

Natalie Khoury was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma

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Nathan Telfer

Nathan's GP noticed an unusual mole on his shoulder

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Nell Hanbury

Nell was just 25 when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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Nick Barnett

Just days away from getting married, Nick was diagnosed with a melanoma on his jaw.

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Paul James

Paul, a licenced aircraft engineer from Riverton in Western Australia, had his first encounter with skin cancer 30 years ago. In 1992, at 21 years old, Paul’s younger sister Carolyn passed away due to melanoma.

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Phillip Wilson

This is Phillip Wilson’s story with throat cancer. Phil is determined to help anyone experiencing cancer today, and their carers. Here, we cover three of Phil’s insights.

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Risto Doneski

Enjoying a night out with his wife, Risto noticed a discomfort in his right testicle

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Rizsa Miguel

Rizsa's daughter Jamaica was 16 when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

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Samantha Coyle

Samantha was 23 when she noticed a change to the appearance of a mole.

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Samantha Mulligan

Even with a young family and wedding to plan, Samantha didn't let cancer stop her.

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Scott Roediger

Scott Roediger tells the heart-breaking story of losing his brother Gavin to cancer

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Sheila Lukacevic

Sheila noticed a red mark and inflammation on her left breast

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Sheree Hailes

Sheree’s mum was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer, she was given a prognosis of 6–12 months

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Suzy Musarra

After surgery for breast cancer Suzy trained with the Cancer Connect program as a volunteer

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Te-Aorangi Freisler

Te-Aorangi Freisler was feeling sick for about a month before going to see her GP.

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Tony Chiles

Tony had a desire to help Cancer Council after they helped him.

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Tracey Williams

Tracey was diagnosed with stage 1 bowel cancer after experiencing severe pain.

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Vince Kelly

Vince was diagnosed with his first skin cancer, aged 35.

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Wallace Crellin

Wallace was diagnosed with prostate cancer even though he had no symptoms

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Wayne Higgs

Wayne was diagnosed with maxillary cancer which he may have been exposed to at work.

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Wendy Goodale

At 38 weeks pregnant, Wendy underwent major surgery to remove a tumour in her mouth.

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