When Christina noticed a subtle change in her breast one evening while caring for her young daughter, cancer was the furthest thing from her mind.
"I put it down to breastfeeding," she says. "But the texture felt different, so I decided to get it checked."
Weeks later, after scans, a biopsy and an urgent recall from her GP, Christina was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
"It was a total shock," Christina says. "I felt too young. My first thought was my daughter. I lost my mum to uterine cancer when I was 19 – my immediate thought was, 'will my daughter even remember me?'"
A whirlwind of treatment
The weeks following her diagnosis felt endless. Appointments filled her days as she tried to understand what lay ahead.
"Time stood still." Christina says. "I just wanted a path forward."
Her treatment included 30 rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, a double mastectomy, lymph node clearance, ongoing hormone treatment, and later a DIEP flap reconstruction. The side effects were relentless.
"There were the things everyone talks about - the hair loss, the fatigue - but also the things you don't see in movies," she says. "Mouth sores, gut issues, constant appointments, and even now, the smell of cleaning products can trigger a gag response because it reminds me of hospital."
Finding strength through her loved ones
Christina's daughter was four when Christina was diagnosed. Having her by her side helped her pull through the difficult times she experienced during her treatment.
"B was so young, she didn't fully understand what was going on. Because of her I kept on embracing life as normally as I could to make it ok for her. She was the reason I kept gong" said Christina.
Support through Cancer Council NSW
Christina reached out to Cancer Council NSW to access counselling support.
"The Cancer Council services were so helpful with the counselling, which was great," she said of the services.
"They helped my mum a lot when she was going through it over 20 years ago… they're such an amazing organisation that has done so much for the community for a really long time."
Almost three years on, Christina has never felt better. She focuses on her health and wellbeing, does strength training five days a week and walks more than 10,000 steps a day.
"I feel like a new person - stronger and more confident than ever before," said Christina.
