Emma vs The Big 'C'

Our beautiful cousin Emma is a 29yr old (now 31yrs as at January 2025) Mother of three, who was recently diagnosed with Osteosarcoma.

Emma's family has sadly been touched by cancer many times. Her family carries the gene for Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which is a rare, autosomal dominant, hereditary disorder that predisposes carriers to developing cancer. Emma lost her Dad to cancer at the age of 40 (Emma was only 14 at the time). Her paternal Grandmother, two Uncles and one Aunt have also been lost to cancer, with another Uncle and cousin currently fighting their own battles.

Three years ago Emma was tested for Li-Fraumeni syndrome, and was told she was a carrier. She also had her three young children tested, and incredibly, none have inherited this gene!!

Emma bravely underwent a hysterectomy proactively in 2020. At this time, they found previously undetected cancer in her cervix.

In July 2022 Emma attended Peter Mac for her annual scan.

On 3 August 2022 (her mother's birthday), she was diagnosed with an 8x7x5cm sarcoma in her pelvis. She was referred to a specialist the very next day.

Since this time, Emma has undergone numerous scans, biopsies and tests, which have revealed that she has Osteosarcoma of the spine, hip and pelvis.

Next week, Emma will commence 15 weeks of intensive chemotherapy (using three different types of chemo). After 10 weeks, the Medical Team will perform a PET scan. If the chemo has shrunk the cancer, Emma will then require major surgery to remove the tumor(s). It is expected that she will lose a vertabrae in her spine, and require a dramatic reconstruction of her hip and pelvis. If this is successful, Emma will need the aid of a wheelchair, and have long and difficult recovery ahead of her. Following this, Emma will need a further 5 weeks of chemotherapy.

Emma and her family live in Gippsland, an hour and a half away from the Medical facilities where Emma will receive her treatment.

Along with the challenges of this big fight, Emma's wonderful husband, Warren, commenced a new job on the very same day that she received her diagnosis. He therefore has no leave entitlements to fall back on as he supports his wife and family through this journey.

We are hoping to raise money for Emma, to assist with the costs associated with her treatment, home modifications to allow for wheelchair access, transport and accomodation for her family to be close by the hospital, and generally, to ease the financial burden for Emma's family at this extremely challenging time.