Medical costs for Aimee's fight against Cancer

In May of 2024, Aimee's doctors discovered a large tumor roughly the size of a tennis ball inside her perineum. Extensive scans and tests would later determine that the tumor was liposarcoma which is malignant. Aimee quickly underwent a PET scan to ensure the cancer was not present in any other major organs. during the scans Aimee had two pre-cancerous polyps removed from her bowel. Aimee was referred to the Royal Prince Alfred Sarcoma unit, where her doctors performed a biopsy which confirmed that she had a rare cancer, Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, Aimee was diagnosed with stage 3 GIST Cancer.

The doctors were unclear as to how this large tumor ended up where it was. The doctors and surgeons were very reluctant to surgically remove the tumor due to where it was located and the size of it, this would have meant they would have to remove everything in that region. The decision was made to put Aimee on Imatinib which was a type of chemotherapy that prevents the cancer cells from multiplying and slows the growth. The intention of this was to reduce the size of the tumor to give Aimee the best chance to not have everything removed during surgery.

During the chemotherapy treatment Aimee experienced severe reactions to the treatment. On the 1st of September she became so unwell she had to immediately stop her treatment and was admitted to hospital her white blood cell count had dropped to 1.6 and she had absolutely no immunity. She was given several types of antibiotics and underwent several tests daily and nothing was bringing her cell count back up. She was extremely weak and fatigued she was unable to eat and despite how hard the doctors and nurses were trying to raise the cell count it kept dropping. The 7th day was the hardest, as we were in the hospital by her side, we thought we were going to lose her. Aimee was so sick and nothing was working, the doctors did a bone marrow biopsy, she also received injections directly into her stomach to try boost it, still the doctors could not come up with an explanation as to why she had such a bad reaction to the medication and why nothing was working. Aimee kept fighting and by day 9 we received the news that her cell count was slowly increasing. After a few more days, Aimee was finally able to come back home to her family.

Medication continued after a month off at a much lower dosage. Aimee seemed to be managing well considering she was still fatigued and unwell at times. She continued to solider on still working, managing her household and being the amazing wife, friend and mother of four young children. Scans and blood tests and regular check ins with her medical team continued, they showed there was a decrease in the activity of the cancer and slight reduction in size, things were looking optimistic.

Aimee received a phone call on Friday the 7th of March, she was asked to attend RPA hospital for a meeting with her doctor and surgeon. Aimee then was confronted with heartbreaking news that the medication is no longer working, and she is now left with the decision to leave it and risk the cancer spreading or surgery which ultimately means she loses a significant amount of her vagina, her bowel and will require an ostomy bag for the rest of her life. The surgery will take place in June of this year. It is invasive and her whole way of life will change, as hard as it is for Aimee to go through, she said she just wants to be here for her children and her husband. There is still so much uncertainty for what the future holds for Aimee, there will be lengthy hospital stays away from her family and a long recovery time as she learns to adapt to her new body and life.

Throughout this entire process Aimee has held her head high even though she was breaking inside, she continued to be her loving bubbly self and always tried to smile for everyone around her. Despite her own battles she never stops helping and supporting everyone.

Aimee's strength is something to be admired, she is the most amazing mother to Issabelle, Lachlan, Connor and Ava, loving, devoted and supportive wife to Jamie the most incredible best friend anyone could ask for and is very much-loved by so many. We are so incredibly proud of Aimee and her resilience.

We are trying to raise some money to assist with Aimee's ongoing medical costs, travel and accommodation, loss of income and other costs that will still occur while she is continuing her treatment and recovery. Anything that you can contribute will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, from all of Aimee's loved ones.