Yvonne's Cancer Cruisade

To know Yvonne even in passing is to know what a charismatic, kindhearted and open person she is. Giving to a fault; going out of her way for others is ingrained in who she intrinsically is. Life has given "Yve", as she's known to family, a lot of lemons throughout her life but somehow she's remained astoundingly resilient, facing hurdles head on and with a great sense of humour always in tow.

As a mother she is the definition of selfless - and I can attest to that, as I am one of her two daughters. Unwavering support, helpful at every turn.. her thoughtfulness knows no bounds. I can't stress enough what a central role my Mum plays in my day to day life - irrespective of the fact that for the past almost five years we've lived in different hemispheres and haven't seen each other for three of those years. She's my biggest cheerleader and truest confidant. She's also the warmest of grandmothers to my now teenage niece and I can't wait for her to share that same love and laughter with my future children.

What many don't know though, is that Yvonne has been battling escalating health issues for the past 3+ years...

Her health challenges:

2013: The year that changed everything. Upon returning from her first ever trip outside of the Pacific - to travel around the United States with me, Yvonne caught a viral infection that made itself at home in her adrenal system. After presenting all the symptoms, it wasn't long before the virus had morphed into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and with CFS came a myriad of other health issues (aside from the already physically and mentally draining side effects that accompany CFS): Irritable Bowl Syndrome and in turn food sensitivities, onset of osteo and rheumatoid arthritis...

2016: By now it had become a case of what *wasn't* going on with Yvonne's health, but true to form she persevered to the best of her ability - often having to pick and choose what to deem 'serious' enough to make a Doctor's appointment for, due to restrictive finances. By late 2016 she was referred to a Gynecologist to investigate the intermittent and often excessive abnormal bleeding she had started to experience.

2017: Doctor's visits have become a regular occurence and so too trips to the emergency room for all of the above. She underwent uterine surgery to find the source of the heavy bleeding, the expectation from the specialist being that this would solve some of the most pressing issues Yvonne was experiencing, but unfortunately this hasn't been the case. Post-surgery she is constantly dizzy, nauseous and at times losing her balance out of the blue; debilitating stomach pain has also been added to the equation.

Fast forward to now and after numerous kinds of tests and ultrasound scans, it's been confirmed that Yvonne has at least one form of cancer.

*A large uterine cyst has been found to be malignant.

*Her monocytes (form of white blood cell) are abnormal, pointing towards issues with the bone marrow.

*It's possible that the painful lump in her right breast is cancerous.

Yvonne is always there for her family, friends, neighbours and even those she doesn't know - now's the time we need to rally around her. This is a stress she can't withstand on her own and having this news come at the tail end of Mother's Day weekend has been an even harder blow to the heart.

**Your help will be a vital asset and something I will never be able to truly thank you all for**