Sister's brave the shave for Amber Arkell

Being diagnosed with Breast Cancer once is scary, but to have a second diagnosis only two years after the first is bloody terrifying. Unfortunately for our good friend Amber this is her reality.

Amber, at 26, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Stage 1, Grade 3, HER2+. Following this diagnosis she had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, preventative bilateral mastectomy with breast reconstruction, IVF and fourteen doses of Herceptin.

It was this diagnosis that motivated her to create her blog 'When things went tits up' to document and share her journey through Breast Cancer. However, the blog has become more than this, and more than Amber could ever have imagined. It became a place of education for young women and men to learn about breast cancer, to encourage them to do monthly checks, and to always remember to be the best advocate for their own health. More so, it became a place of salvage for many people who openly and honestly began to share their own journeys and experiences with cancer, be it their own or someone they care about.

Amber has undoubtably touched the lives of many people, and she is the embodiment of someone who walks the talk. It was down to her regular self checks and pushing for tests from medical practitioners, which she encourages her followers to do, that she found her second cancer. Being faced with Breast Cancer for the second time, at 28, Amber has made the challenging decision to seek further medical treatment at Sanoviv Medical Institute in Mexico. After doing what our health system wanted her to do and still ending up with cancer so close to the original diagnosis, her intuition has told her this time that she needs to look at other ways to address this.

Sanoviv is a fully-licensed hospital that offers a unique blend of conventional, alternative and integrative programs to help maintain good health and to treat a wide range of diseases. It is here that Amber will undergo intense diagnostic testing, detoxification, rebuilding of her immune system and so much more. Their goal in the time Amber is there is to identify the root cause of her disease and come up with a detailed, personalised treatment plan of how to deal with it specifically for her body. Their integrative approach uses the best of cutting-edge science-based therapies and technology as well as nutrition/diet, supplementation, detoxification and natural medicine. Amber will be assigned a Doctor, Psychologist, Nutritionist, Dentist, Chiropractor and Fitness Expert who will work collectively and in conjunction with one another to provide a holistic treatment.

In true Amber style, we can rest assured that this treatment will go beyond helping Amber. It is at the core of who she is to help others, and Amber sees this as another opportunity to share her journey and educate others on all that she learns, as she heals and recreates herself.

However such treatment does not come without a price tag, and this treatment comes at a cost of $40,000. For anyone, coming up with this money alone would be a struggle but Amber is prepared to take on a personal loan to cover the costs. However, we and many others want to do our part to lessen the financial burden this would place on her during an already challenging time. Amber has became a part of our family in the last few years and she has provided unwavering support regardless of her own battles. As two sisters we are compelled to brave the shave for a fellow Sista! This is an investment in Ambers life - we can always find more money, and grow more hair but there is only one of Amber - and it is at times like these that you have to ask yourself how much is a life worth.

We aim to raise as much as we can by the end of May (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), and appreciate greatly the donations we receive. We do understand that not everyone is in the position to donate, so if you are able to please share this page with others and, more importantly, do your monthly self examinations or encourage the women in your life to, regardless of age. To find out more about Amber's journey, how to undertake a self examination and other breast cancer awareness charities and trust, please follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/whenthingswenttitsup/

Details on the shave event to follow, but it is planned for the end of May 2018.