Thank you for helping Nicki heal her cancer
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This is our gift back to you for your generosity. Thank you!
This Wonder Woman, Nicki, is the backbone of how Lotus Wellbeing Centre runs day to day. Her gift to us all is her kindness, love, support and generosity she offers all of our clients and practitioners every single week. Now, she needs us!
Nicki was recently re-diagnosed with cancer and begins chemotherapy in Monday 11th Feb. She needs our support to be able to triumph over cancer! We ask that you give what you can to enable Nicki to continue to care for her 2 children and to finance both the medical and holistic healthcare treatments she requires. These funds will allow Nicki to be freed from financial stress and worry, be able to rest and heal to give her body the strongest opportunity to create wellness once more in her mind, body and spirit.
She plans to continue to work at Lotus when she can, but understands that chemotherapy can have side-effects that prevent you from feeling well enough to work as many hours as you did previously.
NICKI'S STORY (in her own words)
I was first diagnosed in May 2011, my daughter Anamaya was 8 months old. I woke up one morning with a very swollen belly and it stayed that way for a few days so I eventually went to a doctor, who sent me for some tests and a scan. He sent me for further scans and tests as he was concerned it was lymphoma. I had never heard of lymphoma so googled it! Bad idea. I thought, no, the doctor is wrong. However, results came back it was and I was referred to a specialist in the haematology department. PET scans, CT scans, biopsy and blood tests revealed that it was stage 4 indolent follicular lymphoma. This means that it was above and below my diaphragm and it was slow growing, however they told me it was incurable but treatment with chemotherapy would put it into remission. I was told I was very young at 36 to have this cancer, it's normally found in 60 year old men. As we were hoping to have more children, the doctor decided it was best that we harvested some eggs and so I had to go through part of the IVF treatment in Sydney before I could start chemotherapy. I had 4 months of treatment, every 3 weeks with various different drugs, plus medication to ward off other illnesses and nausea. One of the drugs that they injected had to be done very slowly with saline solution, as it could corrode my veins. Before my second to last or last treatment, I had a scan and it showed the cancer was in remission. The doctor told me that it would come back one day, I didn't want to believe that. During the treatment my parents came over, my Dad had to return to the UK after a month, my mum stayed for 3 months. My mum ran the house, cared for Anamaya, me and my husband. During that time, my husband ended up in hospital himself, with appendicitis which then got infected and he had to return to hospital. My poor mum had her work cut out for her.
Two years later I conceived naturally and Luca was born in 2013. Then two years ago I left my husband and found myself having to find somewhere to live and then go through a court battle over the property, mainly because he was sick and wasn't working, therefore not paying the mortgage and the mortgage company were threatening to take the house away but my ex-husband couldn't deal with any of it. Last year around this time, a friend noticed a lump behind my left ear. I went to see my doctor who sent me for a CT scan. Having had lymphoma previously, my lymph nodes would always be on the slightly larger size and any illness/infection in my body, my lymph nodes will grow much more than a person who hasn't had lymphoma. She found a few lymph nodes that were slightly larger but nothing to worry about, however, she told me it maybe the start of it coming back. I refused to accept that. Eventually throughout the year, I found a lump behind my other ear, I was finding myself tired and worn out and not sleeping well, I put this down to age and laziness, but couldn't figure out why I couldn't pull myself back up. I was putting on weight and couldn't shift it. By November I noticed that there was a swelling in my left armpit, I visited my specialist again, who said that I sounded like I was coming down with a cold, it may just be that. Come back after my cold. 4 weeks later I went back, no cold at eventuated and the lump was bigger. My doctor said that over Christmas we would have to do tests, I was going to visit my family in New Zealand on Boxing Day and refused to cancel my trip, so my doctor crammed the PET scan, CT scan and biopsy in the week before Christmas and on Christmas Eve was told the cancer was back and stage 4 again (being above and below my diaphragm). So far I hadn't told my family of any of this as my parents were travelling in New Zealand and then visiting my sister and I didn't want to spoil their holiday. My younger sister, who lives in England, was celebrating her first Christmas with her daughter, Isabella, who was also turning 1 in January - again I didn't want to spoil these special moments with bad news. However, Mum's always know and that first night in New Zealand I ended up spilling the beans.
Once home again, I visited my specialist to find out the treatment plan, accompanied by Cath my biggest supporter. So we were told I had to have chemotherapy again, two days every 4 weeks for 6 months. They also want to do a stem cell extraction during the 4-5 cycle, for future relapses. Following a few more appointments, I was given medication to reduce the lumps and dispel them from my body, then more meds to ward off various infections that could be detrimental to me once my immune system was wiped out by chemo. So now I am drawing close to my second round of chemo, I have been so tired, my sleep is all over the place, my appetite is one minute ravenous, the next non-existent. Thankfully, my parents are coming out tomorrow, to give me much needed support in my home with my children and the house, giving me more opportunities to rest and recuperate.
This is our gift back to you for your generosity. Thank you!
This Wonder Woman, Nicki, is the backbone of how Lotus Wellbeing Centre runs day to day. Her gift to us all is her kindness, love, support and generosity she offers all of our clients and practitioners every single week. Now, she needs us!
Nicki was recently re-diagnosed with cancer and begins chemotherapy in Monday 11th Feb. She needs our support to be able to triumph over cancer! We ask that you give what you can to enable Nicki to continue to care for her 2 children and to finance both the medical and holistic healthcare treatments she requires. These funds will allow Nicki to be freed from financial stress and worry, be able to rest and heal to give her body the strongest opportunity to create wellness once more in her mind, body and spirit.
She plans to continue to work at Lotus when she can, but understands that chemotherapy can have side-effects that prevent you from feeling well enough to work as many hours as you did previously.
NICKI'S STORY (in her own words)
I was first diagnosed in May 2011, my daughter Anamaya was 8 months old. I woke up one morning with a very swollen belly and it stayed that way for a few days so I eventually went to a doctor, who sent me for some tests and a scan. He sent me for further scans and tests as he was concerned it was lymphoma. I had never heard of lymphoma so googled it! Bad idea. I thought, no, the doctor is wrong. However, results came back it was and I was referred to a specialist in the haematology department. PET scans, CT scans, biopsy and blood tests revealed that it was stage 4 indolent follicular lymphoma. This means that it was above and below my diaphragm and it was slow growing, however they told me it was incurable but treatment with chemotherapy would put it into remission. I was told I was very young at 36 to have this cancer, it's normally found in 60 year old men. As we were hoping to have more children, the doctor decided it was best that we harvested some eggs and so I had to go through part of the IVF treatment in Sydney before I could start chemotherapy. I had 4 months of treatment, every 3 weeks with various different drugs, plus medication to ward off other illnesses and nausea. One of the drugs that they injected had to be done very slowly with saline solution, as it could corrode my veins. Before my second to last or last treatment, I had a scan and it showed the cancer was in remission. The doctor told me that it would come back one day, I didn't want to believe that. During the treatment my parents came over, my Dad had to return to the UK after a month, my mum stayed for 3 months. My mum ran the house, cared for Anamaya, me and my husband. During that time, my husband ended up in hospital himself, with appendicitis which then got infected and he had to return to hospital. My poor mum had her work cut out for her.
Two years later I conceived naturally and Luca was born in 2013. Then two years ago I left my husband and found myself having to find somewhere to live and then go through a court battle over the property, mainly because he was sick and wasn't working, therefore not paying the mortgage and the mortgage company were threatening to take the house away but my ex-husband couldn't deal with any of it. Last year around this time, a friend noticed a lump behind my left ear. I went to see my doctor who sent me for a CT scan. Having had lymphoma previously, my lymph nodes would always be on the slightly larger size and any illness/infection in my body, my lymph nodes will grow much more than a person who hasn't had lymphoma. She found a few lymph nodes that were slightly larger but nothing to worry about, however, she told me it maybe the start of it coming back. I refused to accept that. Eventually throughout the year, I found a lump behind my other ear, I was finding myself tired and worn out and not sleeping well, I put this down to age and laziness, but couldn't figure out why I couldn't pull myself back up. I was putting on weight and couldn't shift it. By November I noticed that there was a swelling in my left armpit, I visited my specialist again, who said that I sounded like I was coming down with a cold, it may just be that. Come back after my cold. 4 weeks later I went back, no cold at eventuated and the lump was bigger. My doctor said that over Christmas we would have to do tests, I was going to visit my family in New Zealand on Boxing Day and refused to cancel my trip, so my doctor crammed the PET scan, CT scan and biopsy in the week before Christmas and on Christmas Eve was told the cancer was back and stage 4 again (being above and below my diaphragm). So far I hadn't told my family of any of this as my parents were travelling in New Zealand and then visiting my sister and I didn't want to spoil their holiday. My younger sister, who lives in England, was celebrating her first Christmas with her daughter, Isabella, who was also turning 1 in January - again I didn't want to spoil these special moments with bad news. However, Mum's always know and that first night in New Zealand I ended up spilling the beans.
Once home again, I visited my specialist to find out the treatment plan, accompanied by Cath my biggest supporter. So we were told I had to have chemotherapy again, two days every 4 weeks for 6 months. They also want to do a stem cell extraction during the 4-5 cycle, for future relapses. Following a few more appointments, I was given medication to reduce the lumps and dispel them from my body, then more meds to ward off various infections that could be detrimental to me once my immune system was wiped out by chemo. So now I am drawing close to my second round of chemo, I have been so tired, my sleep is all over the place, my appetite is one minute ravenous, the next non-existent. Thankfully, my parents are coming out tomorrow, to give me much needed support in my home with my children and the house, giving me more opportunities to rest and recuperate.
Fundraising team: Lotus Community Loves Nicki (3)
Catherine McMillan
Organizer
North Wollongong NSW
Nicki Madrid
Beneficiary
Cath Mcmillan
Team member
