Helen Kehoe turns 60 on Saturday. She and her husband Steve Trathen will celebrate with family and friends. It will be a truly joyous occasion. Because it was only fairly recently that Helen thought she would never reach that milestone.
The former nurse from Belconnen was diagnosed with with pancreatic cancer in January 2021. To her, it sounded like a death sentence.
Each year, more than 12,400 Australians are diagnosed with upper gastrointestinal cancers - pancreatic, liver, stomach, biliary and oesophageal.
The Australian Pancreatic Cancer Foundation says only three out of 10 people will survive one year after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Only about one in 10 will survive five years after diagnosis.
Helen knew if there was a bad cancer to have, this sounded like it.
"I was like, 'Should I just go and kill myself now? Why put myself through this? Should I just go and sit on a beach, would that be better?' Because you hear such terrible things about pancreatic cancer and, unfortunately, some of that is true," she said.
But less than two years later, Helen is not only well and celebrating life, but giving back. On Monday, she is riding 100km to raise awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research.
She believes her cancer journey has been a fortuitous one and she wants to raise money for the Pancare Foundation, which supports families and funds research for upper gastrointestinal cancers.
The cancer nurse at Pancare, Shannon Gleeson, in particular, was her "lifeline", providing information, clarity and empathy.
"Pancare provided wonderful support to me and my family. They do an incredible job" Helen said.
"As well as raising much-needed funds, I also want to increase awareness of pancreatic cancer.
"It's incredibly important to act on any symptoms - no matter how mild - and make sure they are thoroughly checked by your GP."
Helen's symptoms were really only a loss of appetite and tiredness. Just a niggle of concern.
Steve "literally picked up the phone" and told her to make an appointment with her doctor. Her GP told her to have a scan. The diagnosis was pancreatic cancer.
But Helen, who also worked in Aboriginal health policy for a long time, feels lucky.
The tumour was in the right spot to actually cause symptoms before the cancer progressed too far. They got advice to see a surgeon who did a lot of work in that specific cancer. They had the means to transfer to Sydney for nine months and for Helen to be treated by her now hero, surgeon Dr Koroush Haghighi.
She was helped by a multidisciplinary team who advised chemotherapy to shrink the tumour before surgery. The operation found the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes but not all of the tumour could be removed.
There was more chemo back home in Canberra.
There are no guarantees about what happens in the coming years. At the moment, it is three-monthly checks and focusing on the positives.
"I do know at the moment I'm here, I'm enjoying life and I'm thankful for that," Helen said.
Now, her personal fundraising challenge is to ride her e-bike 100km from Canberra to Collector and back on Monday. She has so raised more than $7000 and hopes to reach $8000. Her husband Steve, an adjunct associate professor at the University of Canberra, will be her support crew.
"She's just awe-inspiring," he said.
"To think that it's basically two years since diagnosis and she's come through, already wanting to give back, and having the strength to do that. It's pretty bloody impressive."
- The link to support Helen's ride for pancreatic cancer is here.
