Some time ago, Melinda, 33, passed her back ache off as having period pain. She did what most busy mothers would do and took a Panadol. She managed to keep working and raising her two sons, aged two and six.
Although she didn’t think anything was seriously wrong, her pain returned two months later. She was diagnosed with a serious condition.
According to Melinda, she started experiencing severe pain again in July 2022. She said that even after taking Panadol, her pain would not go away. By 11pm, she was in the worst pain of her life.
The pain made it feel like I was in labor. Melinda said that she was begging her husband to kill her as they waited for the paramedics to arrive.
They were able to control her pain, and she and her husband David were joking that it might be constipation. After she was taken to the hospital, doctors did a CT scan of her pelvis.
After three masses were found, the doctors told Melinda that she had advanced ovarian cancer.
However, they later discovered that she had angiosarcoma, a type of soft tissue blood cancer. According to Melinda, this type of cancer usually appears on the surface of the skin.
Being in the pelvis, which is a primary site of cancer, made it very unusual for Melinda to have this type of cancer.
Unfortunately, despite her treatment, the cancer still remained incurable. Her doctors suggested that she undergo radical pelvic exenteration surgery.
During the operation, which lasted for over 16 hours, all of her organs were removed from her pelvis.
Her son, Max, also has a variety of health issues. He was born with a congenital short femur, and he is currently going through numerous surgeries to extend his right leg. Melinda is his mother, and she is his primary caregiver.
Melinda is still fighting for her life. Even though she is completely devastated, she is still hoping that something good will come out of this situation.