IT’S YOUR DAY 27

‘If I can beat this, so can you’

SUE & LEIA, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC

Leia Sheldrick felt a lump on her left breast while showering, and straight away her thoughts turned to her mum Sue.

Nine years earlier, at the age of 45, Sue also discovered a lump in her

left breast, which turned out to be breast cancer.And at only 32, Leia was even younger.“I always had the niggling feeling that cancer

would get me due to my family history. When I found the lump, all I could think was not yet, not so soon,” she recalls.

Not taking any chances, Leia went to her doctor and three days later, like Sue, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“When I told Mum, she apologised and blamed herself,” says Leia.

But Sue was stoic in her cancer battle and had a single mastectomy to rid herself of all the cancerous cells, and it was her mum’s courage that gave Leia the strength and will to beat it, too!

Leia opted for a double mastectomy but being so young, she worried about how it would a� ect her appearance. Her partner David was a pillar of support.

“You don’t need your breasts to live but I need you to be alive,” he told her lovingly.

Post-surgery, Leia endured a gruelling bout of chemo. Yet through the crippling side e� ects – the sickness and nausea – her mum’s pure grit and determination willed her on.

“You are a strong and amazing young woman. If I can beat this, so can you,” Sue reassured Leia.

Sue was by her daughter’s side the entire time – just like Leia had tended to her mother’s every need.

“Having Mum by my side is what got me through. I couldn’t have done it without her,” says Leia.

After losing her hair during chemo, Sue had got her bald head painted blue with white � owers to show her positive spirit, and after � nishing her treatment, Leia chose to paint her body too to support the So Brave cancer charity.

Now � ve years on, Leia’s future looks bright as she’s excitedly awaiting the arrival of her � rst baby later this month.

“Mum and I are survivors, and together I know we can overcome whatever challenges life throws at us,” says Leia.

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‘Together I know we can

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IT’S YOUR DAY 27

being so young, she worried about how it would a� ect her appearance. Her partner David was a pillar of support.

“You don’t need your breasts to live but I need you to be alive,” he told her lovingly.

Post-surgery, Leia endured a gruelling bout of chemo. Yet through the crippling side e� ects – the sickness and nausea – her mum’s pure grit and determination willed her on.

“You are a strong and amazing young woman. If I can beat this, so can you,” Sue

Sue was by her daughter’s side the entire time – just like Leia had tended to her mother’s every need.

“Having Mum by my side is what got me through. I couldn’t have done it without her,” says Leia.

After losing her hair during chemo, Sue had got her bald head painted blue with white � owers to show her positive spirit, and after � nishing her treatment, Leia chose to paint her body too to support the So Brave cancer charity.

Now � ve years on, Leia’s future looks bright as she’s excitedly awaiting the arrival of her � rst baby later this month.

“Mum and I are survivors, and together I know we can overcome whatever challenges life throws

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challenges life throws at us’

challenges life throws at us’

challenges life

Leia undergoing treatment.

She is an ambassador for So Brave (sobrave.com.au) cancer charity.

Leia and Sue were pillars of support for each other through their cancer battles.

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