Hi, I'm Paula. When I was thirteen, I beat cancer, but the treatment that saved my life left irreversible damage in my body, with my ankles taking the front of it; the pain has become a constant in my days, and right now, surgery is the only viable solution (aprox cost 36.000 AUD). I’m a biologist and a Master of Research student at the University of Queensland in Australia, dedicated to understanding how cancer treatments can continue to affect the body long after therapy ends. My student health insurance doesn’t cover these surgeries because they are considered a pre-existing condition, and returning to Colombia would mean waiting more than a year to access care. I’m sharing my story because I’m doing everything I can to continue walking, studying, and rebuilding the life I fought so hard to have.

At that time, I didn’t understand what cancer meant, but I felt it. Everyone celebrated the victory, but nobody talked about what survival really means. I began to feel discomfort and pain, but it was hard to express how deeply it affected me, and I felt guilty for not being happy with my life since I was "lucky to have survived." Pain wakes me up, leaving me exhausted before the next day even begins. The medication I take to manage it makes me throw up, and eating has stopped being a joy. Simple things like walking, sleeping, or sharing a meal have turned into silent battles I fight every day.

Living with pain changes everything. It reshapes the rhythm of your days, how you think, how you move, and how you love. It affects those around me too, the people I love, who worry, who adjust, who stay present even when they don’t know how to help. Through all of this, it teaches you patience, even when you have none left. It forces you to pause and find meaning in things you once took for granted, like dancing, walking to the bus stop, or simply breathing without fear of pain.

Science became the place where I learned to turn fear into curiosity, pain into understanding, and survival into purpose. During my master’s program, my research focuses on how treatments for cancer can lead to chronic pain and long-term changes in the body. It allows me to face what once hurt me and transform my own scars into something that might one day help other survivors who are still learning how to live after illness.

Sharing all of this has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I’m learning that vulnerability is a form of strength. If you choose to help, you are not just supporting my physical recovery; you are helping me complete my research, continue learning, and stay on the path that has shaped me.

From my heart, thank you for reading my story and for being part of it.