Five years ago, Kristina's life took an exciting turn when she decided to move to Australia from Germany.
She was ready to escape the cold, in search for her next adventure. Within five days of arriving, she fell in love with Australia.
Little did she know however, her life would take a dramatic turn with a surprising and confronting diagnosis.
Kristina was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at only 28 years old.
Facing a shocking diagnosis
In December last year, Kristina's partner at the time noticed a small lump on her breast. She thought it was "probably a small cyst" but decided to get it checked anyway.
Her GP was “99% sure” it was a cyst, but Kristina was sent for an ultrasound just in case. The doctors then said she needed a biopsy.
That's when Kristina started to worry, saying “I got a weird feeling something wasn’t right.”
Two days later, she went for another biopsy and began to cry. Kristina says, “I wasn’t in pain, but I already knew what it was.” She didn't tell her family in Germany because they were already worried about her being so far away.
When she got a call from her doctor’s office asking her to come in that day, Kristina remembers, “I knew inside what it was, but was still kind of in denial.”
Kristina heard the words, “I’m really sorry.” And while she doesn’t remember much after that, Kristina knows it involved surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Taking on the challenges of cancer treatment
Kristina was diagnosed close to Christmas, which meant many doctors were on leave.
The surgeon her doctor found told her they needed to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread to her bones or blood. Kristina felt scared and wondered, “will I survive this?”
The surgeon scheduled body scans and surgery.
Another huge shock was fertility preservation, having learned that the treatments might make her infertile, causing early menopause, and making her lose her hair. Kristina says, “I had always dreamt about being a mother. I am a girly girl; I love having long hair and everything. I wondered who I'd be after my treatment?”
Kristina’s surgery happened quickly, and she didn’t have much time to process everything.
She says, “once I got the diagnosis, I could feel the cancer in my body, and I almost wanted to cut it out myself.”
After surgery on Christmas Eve, she felt relieved when the surgeon told her the tumour wasn’t large and her chances of survival were high. But Kristina was still worried because the cancer had spread to two lymph nodes, which is rare for someone of her age and background.
Kristina faced depression and stayed in bed for a couple of weeks.
She says, “I just felt myself lying in bed, not eating, crying, staring at the wall – I didn’t want to do anything.”
Before surgery, Kristina did some online research and came across Cancer Council’s 13 11 20 number and the support available.
“I called them after the surgery and already on the first call they were amazing", she says.
“We were on the phone for an hour, and they also talked to me about the treatments, organisations I could talk to, best doctors, financials and costs and helped me find an immigration lawyer as I was worried about renewing my visa and having cancer.” adds Kristina.
What's next for Kristina?
Despite the fear and uncertainty, Kristina is determined to move forward.
She's taking things one step at a time and focusing on her health and well-being. While she's still waiting to learn if she needs chemotherapy, she remains hopeful.
Kristina continues her mindset coaching business and draws strength from helping other women face challenges.
As she puts it, “I want to help other people – inspire them, let them know they can achieve anything they put their mind to.”
She faces her cancer experience head on and finds ways to keep moving forward.
Kristina's story reminds us that even in the face of the toughest challenges, getting the support we need helps us find a way forward.
If you need to talk about cancer, call Cancer Council on 13 11 20
