Bronny’s Story

Bronny and her family had not heard of NETS when Bronny was diagnosed with Neuro-Endocrine Tumours in 2018. Bronny had felt unwell and was suddenly having tests at her local hospital, and then PET scans in Newcastle – the first of her traveling due to her cancer. Whilst Bronny was having her scans her husband and sister googled NETS and were in tears when Bronny returned to them. They had discovered that people die of NETS because it is not usually diagnosed until it had spread and was Stage 4. 

Bronny had surgery in POW Hospital in Sydney – they removed the tumour (10 times the size of a normal one and some of her lymph nodes. Once Bronny was sent home, she went to the local oncologist who said that from this stage it was just management – radiotherapy and chemo were not suitable for Bronny’s cancer. Fortunately, Bronny had met the only NETS nurse for all of Australia in 2019 (at the funeral of another NETS patient) when she was feeling unwell again. This lovely nurse helped Bronny overcome the bureaucracy and get to see the NETS multidisciplinary team at RNS Hospital in Sydney. A PET scan revealed a tumour in her heart and another one in her pancreas – which were inoperable and slow growing. Her cancer is not stable nor is it curable. 

Bronny’s treatment – she needs to take drugs to manage her hormones and the pain. She needs to watch what she eats. And she needs to go to RNS every 6 months for 3 days to have tests and see her cancer team.  With no family in Sydney, on top of the costs of fuel for the 640km round trip and the high hospital parking fees, Bronny must pay the costs of accommodation. So far Bronny has traveled 15,000kms for her cancer care. 

Bronny knew about Can Assist and how they had assisted a friend of hers, who was undergoing cancer treatment and had lost her source of income. Bronny started to support Can Assist in fundraising but “I never thought that I would be a person that would have to use their services, but they said that we are here for you. And the difference that Can Assist made for me, not just from support in travel and food vouchers, but the ladies themselves, has been incredible moving forward. I’ve always felt that there’s been people there that have literally had my back”.  

And this is important when “living without a cure”. Bronny has bad days but not a bad life. “I’m living to live and part of that is the people that are around me, my husband, my family, my community. And support organisations like Can Assist.” Because of Can Assist Bronny feels that “she has a cheer squad everywhere you walk. There’s someone who’s cheering for you to be okay”.