A woman who said “the horror just did not end” when her aggressive cancer returned twice – once after “brutal” chemotherapy and surgery and again after an amputation – is now working in the NHS to give back to the healthcare service which saved her life.
Melissa had to “dive in at the deep end”, returning to school with crutches and a headscarf, which was “daunting”, and she tried to get back to normality – but the cancer returned again later on, with specialists revealing another tumour had developed around her metal implant. “You lean on your doctors – I see it now in my job – people lean on me for that reassurance, support, guidance – and I want to be able to give that to someone else.”
Melissa was then informed she had osteosarcoma, and due to the cancer being “so advanced”, she commenced chemotherapy immediately, followed by limb-sparing surgery and more chemotherapy. She booked an urgent appointment and a scan revealed the cancer had recurred leaving Melissa “absolutely floored”. “I just didn’t know who I was any more. When you take the ability to walk away, there’s so much identity lost.”
“At this point, it was just personal preference – do you want a nice quality of life? Or do you want to suffer for a few months? And I just said ‘I’ll suffer’.”