Jo Trace Tanah Merah, Queensland Australia Amazon Heart Thunder Australia 2007 Experienced Rider   Click Here to Donate Now!

Hi, my name is Jo and I am a breast cancer SURVIVOR!!!

In July 2006, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I will never forget the shock and that horrid feeling of total numbness as those words rolled off my Doctors tongue. Then, the roller coaster ride of my breast cancer journey began. Everything happened so fast and within a week of being diagnosed I had seen two specialists and been through a series of tests and scans and on day ten after diagnosis, I was laying in a hospital bed, waiting to go to theatre for a lumpectomy. It was like a whirlwind up to this stage and I was very scared. Nothing had really sunk in and it felt like I was living a life that wasn’t mine.

I came through the surgery well and was feeling pretty good and quite positive, until my surgeon came to visit with my pathology results which weren’t good and he advised me that he recommend I have a mastectomy. I felt like I had been pushed off a high rise building – it felt like the end of my world. I didn’t want this surgery, I wanted to turn back time and I wanted to wake up from this terrible dream. But, it wasn’t a dream, it was very real and as much as I didn’t want to have a mastectomy, I realized that it was my best option so I had my second surgery. Four weeks after that I started chemotherapy.

One of the things I remember throughout my illness and treatment, was the more I learnt about breast cancer the easier it was to cope and those things that seemed so bad last week, were not so bad the next week. My dear husband John & I learnt so much during my stay at the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane and their staff was amazing. I’d like to make a very special mention to all the staff at Kim Walters Choices Program for without their support we never would have made it.

However, after two bouts of surgery and an intensive regime of chemotherapy, here I am with a new outlook on life and about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. From the first time I heard about AHT 2007 I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and was determined to be a part of it. Once upon a time, I would have said – “I’d love to do it but really shouldn’t” or “no I can’t”. But, my outlook on life is a little different now and I now say “Yes I can”.

There are many reasons why I am taking part in AHT 2007, number one being to help raise awareness of Breast Cancer. Before I was diagnosed I knew nothing – breast cancer was breast cancer but believe me, there is a far bigger picture and the more educated and informed we become the better we are able to understand.

My aim also is to raise some much needed funds to assist the many organizations such as Amazon Heart and Dragons Abreast in their work providing education, support, strength & inspiration to women living with breast cancer and I hope that by taking part I can help make a difference. On a personal level this ride will have special significance as we ride into Adelaide, my home town, where most of my family still resides. I am looking forward to meeting the other amazing women taking part, forming new friendships and sharing stories and experiences because no-one really knows where you’ve been until they have walked in your shoes!

I’d like to end this, by saying thank you to all my family and friends who wrote to me, rang me, hugged me, loved me, visited me, prayed for me, laughed with me and cried for me and for just being there for me. Your support gave me more strength than you could ever imagine.

And now, I would like to dedicate this ride to my dear husband John. I will be thankful for the rest of my life that I have you.

Your donation to support my participation in Amazon Heart Thunder will help the thousands of women diagnosed with breast cancer each year to access the support they need. Thank you for you generosity!

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