A beauty queen has issued an urgent warning to everyone to “listen to your body” after ignoring crippling stomach pains for months.
When she finally went to the doctor, Tirah Ciampa, 27, from Somerset in Tasmania, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
She was so ill that she spent days writing goodbye letters to loved ones while doctors hatched a plan to remove the 15-centimeter growth.
“Listen to your body!” Especially women who attribute every strange feeling to their menstrual cycle or hormones,” she said.
‘Your body is a temple; it’s all we have to live in this beautiful world. Don’t take it for granted.
Pancreatic cancer is often fatal, with a survival rate of just over 12 percent.
It is expected to become Australia’s second deadliest cancer by 2030. 4,500 people are expected to be diagnosed in 2023 and of those, 3,669 are likely not to survive beyond the first 12 months.
This is why, despite her ongoing health battle, the former Miss World Australia is considered “one of the lucky ones”.
She underwent a grueling seven-hour surgery to remove the huge mass and was hooked up to nine different tubes in the hospital for over a week and fed a liquid diet to survive.
In the preceding months, Ms. Ciampa knew something was wrong, but admits she ignored the warning signs.
“I felt like I had been punched in the back,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I was constantly lying on the floor at work and going to the physio. I thought I had injured myself at the gym or maybe just slumped at my desk.
Tirah Ciampa, 27, revealed how she experienced symptoms for almost a year before doctors operated on her to remove a huge 15x15cm tumor which had already devoured half of her pancreas.
Ms Ciampa wrote ‘goodbye letters’ to loved ones because she thought cancer would kill her
Ms Ciampa said her heart rate would increase and she would suffer cramps randomly.
“I’ve been going back and forth to the doctor since November last year trying to figure out what’s going on,” she explained.
“I had a cardiologist looking after me, but it wasn’t until February that I had to have an abdominal ultrasound and that’s when I saw the huge mass. “
Doctors had finally discovered the source of his pain: a 15 x 15 cm tumor inside his pancreas, which had already consumed half of the organ.
Ms. Ciampa will never be able to drink alcohol or play sports again and there is a permanent clot in her spleen
She urged people, especially women, to listen to their bodies and not dismiss “any strange sensations related to their menstrual cycle or hormones.”
She said it was “crazy” to continue living this long with a pancreas functioning at 50% capacity.
“I was writing letters to my loved ones, paying my pension, cleaning my laptop and spring cleaning,” Ms. Ciampa said. Tasmanian Sunday.
“I wanted to make sure my funeral would be paid for, that it would be a mess that was easy to clean up. I was getting ready to leave.
After her marathon surgery, the grueling recovery process began, involving extensive physiotherapy.
But Ms Ciampa miraculously overcame her battle against all odds and is preparing to take the stage at the Miss World Australia national finals on the Gold Coast in August.
Unlike the other contestants, she will have a long scar that extends from her chest to her navel.
But she says she’s “not afraid to show it off – even in a two-piece bikini on stage.”
The Hobart-based model will compete in the Miss World Australia finals next month
His seven-hour surgery left him with a long scar running from his chest to his navel.
Although Ms. Ciampa will never be able to drink alcohol or exercise again due to a permanent clot in her spleen, the model says she is incredibly lucky.
“I’m so lucky to still have the head of my pancreas, and with my healthy lifestyle, I may not get diabetes until I’m much older,” she said. declared.
Ms. Ciampa raised over $2,500 to reach its $5,000 goal for the Variety Children’s Charity, which helps underprivileged children.
