Our Stacey's Courageous Fight to Beat Cancer
This is our beautiful sister Stacey with her precious family.
Stacey is the eldest of four sisters, those that know us know of us as ‘The Gurney Girls’.
An adored mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunty, niece, cousin and friend. Those that know Stace know her to be the most kind, caring person. She makes everyone feel welcome and brings so much joy and laughter to all situations. She has always been the rock in our family and has never been one to ask for help, even when she needs it most.
Our worlds were shattered in December 2016 when at the age of 38 Stace was diagnosed with ocular melanoma which is a very rare cancer, especially in someone of her age. Just before Christmas of that year and 20 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child Stace underwent surgery to remove the tumour and also her eye. She was told that the likelihood of it spreading (to her liver) was high. Their little miracle baby boy Phoenix was born on 17 May 2017 and Stace had 4 years cancer free but following a 6 monthly routine PET scan in December 2020 metastases were found on her liver.
Stace started on a immunotherapy trial here in Perth in February, however after several rounds she was no longer able to continue as the tumours were not responding and in fact were getting bigger.
Up until now there has never been a known treatment specifically for ocular melanoma. Miraculously just as she was finishing up on the initial trial, she and her medical team became aware of a drug specifically designed for the treatment of ocular melanoma. This drug has shown some very promising results. Just to add some more challenges the treatment is currently only available in Sydney!
So Sydney she will go because this girl is a powerhouse, warrior woman and will do whatever she needs to heal from this disease.
We decided to set up this page to do whatever we can to help ease the financial and emotional stress for Stace, her husband Walter and their three beautiful children Josh, Erin and Phoenix who are loved by so many.
As you can imagine the cost of relocating to Sydney during Covid times will be high. We are unsure of how long or often she will need to be in Sydney but we think initially it will be at least a month. We are hopeful that the trial will be available in Perth around September but nothing is definite at this stage.
The side effects of this drug are quite severe and will require hospital stays and will be quite taxing on her body. Stace will also have to leave her kids and Walter behind in Perth. This is breaking her heart knowing she will have to leave them for such a long period of time while undergoing her treatment. We urge you to reach out to support and help in any way you can as the next few months are going to be extremely challenging time for Stace, Walter and the kids.
Throughout all of this Stace and Walter are strong and unwavering in their positive attitude and see this as just a detour on the road to a complete healing. Although this storm has brought her destruction, it has also brought her strength and a willingness to learn and commit wholly and completely to her healing. We know she is a superstar and she is more powerful than anything that arises. We often say that we are all in this together, we will fight this together and we will beat this together. Love is the most powerful thing.
Stacey is facing the battle of her life and right now more than ever needs our support. We are reaching out to ask for your help.
We know any donation big or small to assist Stace and her family will be greatly appreciated and will go a long way in her courageous battle against this unpredictable, aggressive disease.
Kellie, Alysha and Rochelle
