Behind every Cancer Council NSW volunteer, there is a story.
With National Volunteer Week coming up, we're sharing Serap's story, one of our many dedicated volunteers that make a positive difference every day.
As a single mum of three boys, Serap has always been on the go, working long hours to provide for her family.
The last thing she expected was a bladder cancer diagnosis.
Living with cancer for almost 14 years, Serap gives her time and compassion to others as a Cancer Council volunteer, running the wig library at Blacktown Hospital.
A surprising cancer diagnosis
It all started with fatigue, unexplained abdominal pains, and hot and cold flushes - immediately Serap knew she had to go to the doctor.
"My first doctor examined me, and told me to go home and have a cup of tea", she recalls. "I saw another doctor who told me to go home, take a Panadol and have a lie down."
Serap's third doctor gave her antibiotics and took a urine test, but never followed up.
Soon her symptoms got worse - she started getting urinary tract infections (UTIs), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and blood in her stool.
It wasn't until Serap met a doctor who truly listened, that she finally got answers.
Following back to back days of tests and excruciating pain, the signs of bladder cancer couldn't be ignored.
In 2011, Serap was diagnosed with endometrial malarial bladder carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.
Suddenly, Serap was confronted with an uncertain future. "How was I going to tell my kids?" she remembers. "I was so scared."
Navigating treatment and unexpected challenges
Undergoing treatment was anything but straightforward for Serap - being diagnosed with a rare cancer meant that doctors weren't sure how to treat it.
"The head oncologist had a roundtable meeting because I wasn't a textbook case," she says.
Following more symptoms, more tests and more treatment, Serap needed two surgical teams to remove the tumour: urology and colorectal.
Six hours of surgery grew to ten hours as doctors found more tumours.
The day before going home, Serap was given more devastating news - the cancer had returned.
Already weak and 40kg lighter, Serap started the strongest chemotherapy available.
Serap remembers, "I was living by myself, and after my first chemo session, I fainted in the shower."
"I woke up on all fours on the shower floor with water everywhere. My brain couldn't figure out how to get up," she adds.
Despite the toll on her body, she refused to give up.
When her oncologist told her she had exhausted all treatment options, she was offered one last drug: Tamoxifen. "I wanted to live, but I didn't know if I could cope with the possible side effects," she says.
Serap decided to try it. It wasn't easy - she battled nausea, headaches, and nerve damage - but she pushed through.
Within a year, nearly all traces of her cancer were gone. "They call me the miracle lady at the hospital," she says.
Finding purpose through volunteering
Looking back at her life before cancer, Serap remembers, "it was always everyone else before me."
Fast forward through a whirlwind of tests & treatments, Serap is still finding ways to help others - whether it's through volunteering or her business as a life coach.
"Cancer Council was incredibly supportive of me throughout my experience," Serap says. "They paid one of my bills and also gave me access to an accountant. He helped me fix my mortgage and do my Centrelink paperwork."
She volunteers at the Cancer Council Wig Library at Blacktown Hospital, helping people regain confidence after losing their hair.
Now, she's paying it forward.
"Being of service and making people happy at the most difficult time in their lives is my purpose for surviving," Serap says.
This National Volunteer Week, we're celebrating our volunteers who make a difference just like Serap.
Because it's all of us against cancer.
If you're interested in volunteering, learn more on our volunteer with us page.
