Alex’s famous beauty range is made with an ancient secret ingredient that delivers incredible results. But what most don’t know is the terrifying diagnosis she had just weeks before showing it to the world.

The founder of one of Australia’s most loved beauty brands has shared how she managed to build her empire after receiving a terrifying cancer diagnosis that turned her life upside down.

Alex Wilson is the founder of Natural harmony of the heartwooda “clean” beauty retailer offering a collective of luxurious natural wellness buys in a store in an affluent beachside suburb in Perth.

Under Heartwood, the 36-year-old has developed her own line of products using the benefits of Indian sandalwood that her parents grow sustainably in northern areas of Australia.

Alex told FEMAIL that he initially wanted his own Indian Sandalwood line to be Heartwood’s sole focus, however, after receiving the news that he had a very rare cancer, he had to quickly put the business on the back burner and change his vision.

When she opened her Heartwood store in October 2019, she was overwhelmed with joy after having gone through months of chemotherapy and recovery from major surgery.

Alex quit his full-time office job to focus on his new company and enjoy the Christmas holidays with his family and friends at the end of 2018.

She was on the beach applying sunscreen when she felt an unusual mass on the right side of her abdomen.

“It wasn’t like a round lump, it was more penetrating and the size of a pepper.” “I’m lucky I’m relatively thin, I’m like a bean, so it was pretty easy to identify,” she said.

Alex went to a walk-in clinic on Christmas Eve, where she was emergency referred to a radiologist and spent hours undergoing tests and scans.

The radiologists strongly suspected that Alex had Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), which is also known as “jelly belly” as it begins as a buildup of mucin in the abdomen and can spread to the surface of other organs.

Alex had an anxious month-long wait for a laparoscopy that confirmed the diagnosis and in February she was taken into surgery to have the cancer removed.

‘The surgery was as extreme as it sounds, but it couldn’t have gone better. “It was an incredible blessing for me as I was lucky to keep most of my organs, but the recovery was absolutely unbearable,” she said.

‘I had many complications. I had a pulmonary embolism and some intestinal blockages and a constant feeling of nausea.’

Alex was already very thin before the surgery and was encouraged to gain weight in the weeks leading up to it, as the doctors knew she would be too sick to eat after the operation.

‘I couldn’t eat for six weeks so I just passed out. I think I dropped to 30 kilos or something like that and I’m very tall. I’m almost six feet tall,’ she said.

During his recovery from surgery, he also received rounds of chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Alex recalled a terrifying moment when he collapsed while having one of his daily scans and woke up to doctors operating only with local anaesthetic.

“I was surrounded by doctors. They were putting a drain in my chest to relieve pressure on my lungs due to a pulmonary embolism,” he explained.

Alex said she had no choice but to submit and put her life in the hands of the medical team treating her.

‘This was all totally new to me and you just have to surrender to what’s happening. The worst part was feeling like you have no control over what’s happening,” she said.

‘At the end of the day, you have to put all your faith in the amazing doctors and medical staff around you. “I’ve lived to tell the tale, so I feel lucky.”

Fortunately, Alex put his confidence in the right place and little by little he began to improve and gain weight.

She was finally able to leave the hospital and moved in with her parents to rest, regain strength, and slowly get back to doing the things she loves, like swimming at the beach and dancing at concerts with friends.

Throughout the months of ordeal, Alex said the dream of improving and finally launching his passion project was his motivation.

“I was thinking about Heartwood the whole time to help me. I dreamed about it constantly,” she said.

Alex had done much of the groundwork for the business before his diagnosis, such as signing the lease for the store and starting fit-out so he could pick it up again when he felt well enough.

In October 2019, he said it was “the best feeling in the world” to finally open his Heartwood store in Cottesloe, Perth.

Aromas of Indian sandalwood waft from the ultra-chic store that has shelves full of clean beauty and wellness products from “some of the world’s best natural beauty brands,” hand-picked by Alex.

When he came up with the idea for Heartwood, he wanted to exclusively sell his own range, but after his illness, he began looking for alternatives to open the store.

The change meant Alex was able to listen to what her customers wanted from their skincare and take her time to perfect each Heartwood formula.

Alex has developed an extensive line of skin care products, home fragrances, jewelry, perfumes and wellness accessories, all using the power of Indian sandalwood.

This valuable ingredient has been revered for thousands of years by cultures and religions around the world for its unique nutritional properties.

In addition to its luxurious fragrance, Indian sandalwood is said to be anti-inflammatory and highly beneficial for the skin, is “extremely calming” and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Alex grew up knowing all about this versatile resource as her father began growing it when she was young. Her family has farms in Kimberley, the Northern Territory and northern Queensland.

“It has always been a dream of mine to bring Indian sandalwood to life in a contemporary way in the Australian market,” Alex said.

‘My goal with Heartwood “It was really about educating a modern audience about the beautiful benefits of this sacred wood and creating something that was truly meaningful.”