A young Australian woman who battled and defeated a rare and aggressive cancer three years ago is fighting for life again after her worst fears came true.
Gold Coast woman Tayla Firkin, 25, discovered last Friday she has less than a 10 per cent chance of surviving the next 18 months.
A relapse of Ewing sarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer, has spread from the pelvis to the spine, but that has not dimmed Mrs Firkin’s desire to live the best life possible.
In 2021, what he thought was just a sore shoulder turned out to be stage four cancer, with 14 tumors spread throughout his body.
For the next 11 months, he received intensive chemotherapy and appeared to be cancer-free.
“I was very lucky that for two years I had no evidence of illness,” Mrs Firkin said. 7News.
In March, her radiologist found something that looked like Ewing’s sarcoma, and she’s faced a whirlwind of doctor appointments ever since.
“It’s been seven months where my full-time job is doctors, blood tests, scans and I’ve basically been back and forth trying to figure out what this place is,” he said.
Tayla Firkin (pictured with her brother Jess) has less than a 10 per cent chance of surviving the next 18 months.
On Friday he received the devastating news that the cancer had returned and was growing rapidly.
The original tumor in his pelvis grew within weeks.
“It’s grown pretty quickly,” he said, and the original tumor in his pelvis grew 5cm within weeks. “It’s very scary.”
Within days of confirming that the cancer had returned, his older brother Jess had created a GoFundMe for his beloved sister, who has already raised more than $95,000.
Firkin said when she recovered from her previous bout with cancer, Tayla had the world at her feet.
He had his favorite job that he loved to do and many friends.
“I think I was really starting to figure out who I was,” he wrote.
Now he has to receive treatment immediately to try to stop the spread of the cancer, but this time his body cannot withstand the same treatment due to toxicity.
The only option is to find a trial chemotherapy, which is not funded by the government and could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
‘Every day that passes, the stakes increase. “His life is now in danger and we need all the help we can get to give him the best chance of surviving this battle,” Mr Firkin said.
Tayla (center in photo) is very grateful for the support she receives from family and friends.
For 11 months, he received intensive chemotherapy and appeared to be cancer-free, but the cancer returned.
Mrs Firkin (pictured right) said she will fight as hard as she can to beat cancer for a second time “Because I really like life and I really love everyone.”
“It’s very discouraging when you have a prognosis of a year and a half left and less than a 10 percent chance of making it, but the support that everyone has given through the GoFundMe that my brother organized is overwhelmingly beautiful,” said Ms. Firkin said.
“I can’t thank people enough.”
Firkin said people want to help because they see themselves in their sister.
‘She is such an innocent person. “She lights up the room when she walks in,” he said.
Tayla is very grateful for the support she receives from family and friends.
“They are the best in the world,” he said.
‘I hope that anyone who has gone through a cancer diagnosis or a cancer relapse or who has seen a family member go through this has the same support that I have from them.
“It’s a hard thing to go through a second time and I wish I could give everyone back all the love they’ve given me.”
Although she is “petrified,” her support network “is like a little blanket of love without which I don’t know what I would do.”
He will fight with all his might to overcome cancer for the second time.
“I really like life and I really love everyone,” Tayla said.
“It really makes me want to be here and try because I’m still here, so I’ll try to make the most of it while I can.”