Living with Breast Cancer for Over 40 Years: How Terry Continues to Live Her Life

Imagine waking up every day for the past 40 years, knowing your fight with cancer isn’t over.

That is the reality for 84-year-old Terry, who has been living with breast cancer for more than half of her life. And today, she continues that journey with the support of the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation’s Cancer Patient Transport service, made possible by generous donations from the community.

 

Terry, 84, standing with one of Gold Coast Hospital Foundation’s Cancer Patient Transport Vehicles as she arrives for regular treatment.
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It is hard to believe that someone would need to fight their diagnosis for this long, being first diagnosed in her forties. Since then, Terry has endured multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and ongoing immunotherapy, all while raising her children and working in high pressure corporate roles. Treatment has not been a short chapter for Terry, it has been a constant across decades.

“When I was first diagnosed, I never imagined it would be something I’d still be facing all these years later,” she said. “But across that time, I’ve had seven operations. Six lumpectomies and a double mastectomy.”

Terry’s relationship with cancer unfortunately goes beyond herself, losing her husband to the disease. She has lived through the pain of her partner and children, all while battling her own.

“My children have had to live with the pain and heartache of cancer for a long time.” she said, “It has been incredibly hard for them.”

Through it all, Terry made a conscious decision about how she would face her diagnosis.

“Initially, it was a shock, like it is for everyone, but I just decided I wasn’t going to let it beat me.”

After each surgery, there were moments when it felt like the cancer was behind her. The procedures were done, she was told it was gone, and for a moment she had relief and the hope that this time might be the last.

But the nightmare kept repeating itself. The cancer kept coming back. What should have been an ending became something she has had to carry with her, again and again. It has been a gruelling ongoing fight.

“Each time, you think maybe it’s over, and then it isn’t,” Terry shared. “You just have to start again and keep going.”

Now in her eighties, Terry is a grandmother to four grandchildren and great-grandmother to four great-grandchildren. She treasures every moment she gets to spend with them, moments that mean even more after everything she has been through.

As Terry progressed through her journey, the reality of the constant need for treatments and the pressure she was putting on others to help her get to them was becoming too much.

When Terry was introduced to the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation’s Cancer Patient Transport service, she felt an immediate sense of relief. It took away the guilt she once felt relying on others and gave her back a sense of independence.

It was the support she needed when it mattered most. It meant her fight was not over and she could continue undergoing her critical treatments.

 

Terry receiving her regular Herceptin treatment – a routine that has become a staple in her life.
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“They say stress can make cancer worse,” Terry said. “That’s why this service is so wonderful. It takes the stress away.”

“Just knowing it’s there makes such a difference.”

Each appointment now follows a familiar routine. Terry is collected from home, taken to hospital, receives her treatment, and is brought home again. It’s a simple process, but one that ensures she can keep getting the life-saving care she needs.

For Terry, the service isn’t a convenience, it’s her livelihood.

“It’s a necessity,” she said. “There’s no point having hospitals, doctors and nurses if people can’t actually get there. This service takes a huge amount of stress away, and that makes a real difference when you’re going through cancer treatment.”

Her gratitude for the service and the donations that make it available is undeniable.

“Your money is very, very well used,” she says. “Everyone who relies on this service is incredibly grateful. I genuinely can’t imagine what would happen to people, including me, if this service didn’t exist. Because of it I can spend time with my family. It has helped me continue to fight.”

Terry has lived a full and fascinating life as a journalist and writer, travelling extensively through her corporate training roles. Even now, she continues to write books, visit family and maintain a social life, things that wouldn’t be possible without reliable access to her treatment.

 

After more than 40 years, Terry can still enjoy her life beyond her cancer diagnosis.
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The Gold Coast Hospital Foundation and the community are giving her something she values most, the ability to keep fighting and living life the way everyone deserves.

Across the Gold Coast, patients like Terry rely on the Cancer Patient Transport Service daily to reach the treatment they cannot afford to miss.

Last year alone, the Cancer Patient Transport Service completed 3,707 patient journeys, helping local cancer patients attend their critical treatment safely and reliably when every appointment matters.

Behind each of those journeys is a person with a life, a history and a future. People like Terry who are able to keep living the life they have built beyond cancer.

This June, through Give Me 5: Raise for a Ride, you can help make those journeys possible. Every $67 funds a one‑way trip to treatment, ensuring more patients have reliable access to their life-saving care, so they can focus on what matters most.

Donate today and help give patients like Terry the chance to keep living life.