After beating ovarian cancer, Trudy Millgate thought the worst of her health battles were over.
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But three weeks into remission she was delivered some devastating news. Even after having a hysterectomy the tumours had returned, and they had spread to her pelvic wall and bowel.
“I was numb. I was in remission for three weeks so I thought ‘I’ve kicked it, everything’s good’ and then when it came back I thought ‘I just can’t win’. I felt numb for a couple of days, I had no emotions,” Ms Millgate said.
“It’s been pretty tough and trying not to express my sadness and stuff at home because that would rub off on my daughter and I don’t want her feeling upset.”
Ms Millgate was diagnosed with stage 3 low grade serous carcinoma, a cancer usually found in women over 50 years old. She said the doctors told her it was a “pure case of bad luck”.
In April the 27-year-old will go back into surgery.
“They’re going to remove my bowel, maybe my bladder, depending on how far the cancer has progressed in the three months. I’ll have a bag for my bladder and a bag for my bowel,” Ms Millgate said.
“They’re going to try and give me chemotherapy straight into the tumours in my belly. But it’s no guarantee if they’re going to work. The tumours could return in a couple of weeks.
“But they said if I don’t go for the operation the tumours I have now will end up taking over all my internal organs and it’ll end up killing me. If I do go for the operation they said that I’ve got about five to ten yeas, but not guaranteed.”
In the meantime, the single mother said she was trying to live day to day and save every penny she could.
Knowing the amount of time Ms Millgate would be spending without an income, friend Trent McGovern set up a GoFundMe page calling for donations. Mr McGovern said he was trying to do anything he could to help out.
Ms Millgate said she started crying when she went onto Facebook and saw what Mr McGovern had done.
“I was just so overwhelmed, I didn’t know how to react. It’s been a massive struggle at the minute just trying to get by day to day. I didn’t expect anyone to give me a hand out,” she said.
“I can’t thank him enough. It’s been unreal, I can’t believe it. Even through Facebook I’ve been getting messages saying ‘just sending you my love’ and I never expected that from anybody.”
Mr McGovern said in just a few days people had already given almost $2000.
“Every cent helps in the long run. Help get a bit of money in there and take the pressure off. Support the ones around you when they’re going through a tough time,” he said.
Donate at: gofundme.com/9ma88-fk-cancer.