GETTING a new job helped save Sandra Lawrie’s life.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Lawrie, 56, her husband Craig and two children were planning to relocate to the Northern Territory for work.
“We had resigned from our jobs, taken the kids out of school and were ready to go,” Ms Lawrie said.
But at a medical check-up before their departure, Ms Lawrie learnt some devastating news.
The then 45-year-old was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, which targets the lining of the uterus.
The Ballarat mother initially thought her symptoms were pre-menopausal.
“I didn’t really think about it too much,” she said.
“In December (2003), we started the job and in November I was diagnosed with cancer.”
There were 62 new cases of uterine cancers in Ballarat women between 2011 and 2013.
Cancer Council Victoria statistics also found 10 women, or 1.5 per cent, died from the disease in the same period.
An average of 546 new cancers were diagnosed in the City of Ballarat between 2011 and 2013.
About 51 per cent of new cancers were diagnosed in males and 71 per cent in persons aged over 60 years.
Victorian Cancer Registry director Helen Farrugia said Ballarat accounted for 2 per cent of Victoria’s cancer burden.
Prostate, bowel, lung, breast and melanoma cancers are the most common in Ballarat.
Ms Lawrie underwent a full hysterectomy and is prescribed hormone medication.
“There is no treatment for it,” she said.
“The medication I am taking is to treat ovarian cancer.”
She encouraged other women to seek medical advice if they were concerned.
“If you do experience any sort of change, get it checked out,” she said.
kara.irving@fairfaxmedia.com.au