By taking part in Dry July, you help people like Esther. Esther is one of seven people in Australian history to develop a tumour from a molar pregnancy. It happened in 2015, and was an extremely difficult time for her as she had just lost her father as well as her baby. She is incredibly supportive of Cancer Council NSW’s “The Thing About Cancer” podcast series as they provided her with the support she needed to cope and communicate her situation to her loved ones.
Esther's story
“In 2015, I had a molar pregnancy that turned into tumour. I think there’s only 7 other people who have had this in Australia.
Around the time of diagnosis, I had just lost my dad and now obviously, the baby. The hormones I had at the time meant the feelings were magnified by about 500%. I had to put my chemo off to speak at my fathers funeral. Everything was blended together, so I’m not sure it was just the tumor making me feel this way.
One thing I wished I did earlier was listen to “The Thing About Cancer” podcast, which was produced by Cancer Council NSW and funded by Dry July. I also wish I’d made my family and friends listen to the podcast on speaking to a family member about their cancer. It would’ve made it a lot easier for me to manage those relationships during treatment. I always recommend people listen to that podcast series. I’ve been speaking to a lot of people recently at my daughter’s new school, and have found so many people find it hard to speak to someone going through treatment. The podcasts were my friend during that time and gave me someone or something to listen to.
The podcasts were so great because you could just listen to them and do other things at the same time. I had my husband listen them and the man’s voice in the ‘sex’ episode really helped us reconnect on that level, and understand each other’s position. I connected with them as they provided the information that I needed to hear. I wasn’t alone and my feelings weren’t unusual. I was crying and laughing, and you can’t do that while reading. The podcast medium is great for this information as it caters for that time restriction and lack of energy which is so common with people going through cancer treatment.
If I were to give advice to someone going through my situation, I would honestly say, listen to the podcasts by Cancer Council. They make everything better, you can dish them out to the people around you that need to hear it. It’s so nice, to have someone finally say that this is usual and this is normal. It gave me an avenue to communicate what I felt without actually having to say it, or offending those I love the most.
Recently, my partner and I were finally given permission to try for more babies. So we’re very excited, it’s been a long time coming.”
