May 2010

Hi - my name’s Rob Mitchell, and my wife is a recent cancer survivor. Teresa was given the all-clear in November last year.

Actually, we think of our whole family as being cancer survivors - including our 5-year-old little girl, Ava, and 8-year-old boy, Thomas - because it’s been a life-defining experience for all of us.

I’m hoping that by sharing our story here I can show you just how important and deserving of support Cancer Council SA really is, not just for the individuals fighting the disease, but those close to them as well.

Teresa was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2008. She was just 34. It was aggressive and had spread to her lymph nodes. Her prognosis was bleak.

The news didn’t so much scare Teresa as utterly shatter her. Every hope and assumption about how her life was going to be was, in that moment, erased.

I was at work when she called and could think of nothing but being with her. I put down my pen, walked out the door and didn’t leave Teresa’s side for six months, as she bravely took everything the medical team could throw at her - a double mastectomy, six courses of chemotherapy and intensive radiotherapy.

My own mother was also an incredible, ongoing help. But Teresa’s family took the shock very hard. Her mother, father and three sisters, quite understandably, found it difficult to openly discuss the situation, and at times still do.

One incident sticks in our minds. We were determined to stay positive and, particularly, to protect Tom and Ava from the fear of losing their mum. If at all possible, we even wanted to make it fun for them. So when the chemo’ started we decided that rather than wait for Teresa’s hair to start shedding, we’d gather the family together and videotape everyone having a laugh shaving it off.

For the kids, it went exactly as we’d hoped. They thought it was hilarious, and still enjoy watching the tape. For Teresa’s mother though, it was simply confronting - a vivid symbol of the threat to her daughter’s life - and she chose not to take part.

“There’s no greater motivation to stay alive than to watch your children grow up. It got me through every day.” Teresa Mitchell

“I was grateful my daughter wasn’t old enough to comprehend what had just been said. I tried to stay calm and smile reassuringly for her.” Teresa Mitchell

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Continued overleaf...

“By the third month you know who’s really there for you. My family was struggling with it...and that was hard.” Teresa Mitchell

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Teresa perfectly understood, of course. What parent wants to face the fact that their child could be taken from them? But understanding why something happens doesn’t necessarily stop it hurting. And that, for us, gets to the heart of why Cancer Council SA is so crucially important.

Everyone has to deal with cancer in their own way. But whoever you are and however you’re involved - patient, partner, family or friend - you can turn to Cancer Council SA, as Teresa has many times, for understanding and support.

Teresa was able to speak with trained nurses and counsellors through the Cancer Council Helpline. She accessed clear information on her treatment through the Cancer Council SA website. And through the Cancer Connect service she was able to contact others in similar circumstances, which provided great comfort.

She was also, it must be said, remarkably strong herself, and blessed with two children whose innocence continually put a smile on her face. We’ll never forget Tom happily proclaiming to an embarrassed ticket-booth operator at the Royal Adelaide Show, “My mum’s got breast cancer and has a pillow for a boob!”.

But the value of Cancer Council SA’s support is impossible to put a price on. So please, from the bottom of our hearts, we urge you to give as generously to this campaign as you possibly can.

Yours sincerely,

Rob Mitchell

P.S. While I was writing this letter, Ava made Teresa a card. We found it on the kitchen bench. It said simply, “I love you mummy”. That’s why life’s worth fighting for. And that’s why Cancer Council SA does what it does.

Never underestimate what a difference your support can make.

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