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"On the same day I found out I was 8 weeks pregnant, I also found out I had breast cancer...”
Zoe underwent 2 life-changing ultrasounds on the same day.
The first ultrasound brought unbridled joy – confirming she and her husband Alex were expecting their first child
– but with the second came a devastating diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer.
Thanks to pioneering research, made possible through donations from our generous community, She was able to access life-saving breast cancer treatment while pregnant.
Zoe did not have to choose between saving her life or her son's.
Countdown
until 30 June.
Time left to give
1 in 7
Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
#1
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.
1 in 4
Queensland women diagnosed with breast cancer will receive their treatment at Mater.
Research is the only way we can change the future
for mums like Zoe, and for all women with breast cancer.
Zoe's story
Finding out I had breast cancer when I was 8 weeks pregnant was a curve ball I didn’t see coming.
I was 32, fit and healthy, and recently married. Everything was in front of me, then suddenly, there was a huge question mark over my future, and the little one inside me. I remember wondering: am I even going to be around to meet this baby at the end of my pregnancy?
One of the hardest parts of those earliest days was that I hadn’t told my extended family or even closest friends about the pregnancy – so we had to share both pieces of news at the same time.
The following months tested me beyond my limits, the uncertainty of every day always in the back of my mind. I remember Sunday being my favourite day of the week, it meant we were one week closer to meeting our baby boy and one more week of treatment completed.
What we didn’t expect was welcoming our baby boy, George, 10 weeks early. Suddenly we were navigating the NCCU and the Mater Cancer Care Clinic (MCCC).
Without the specialist teams caring for us at Mater, it would have been unbearable. My gratitude for the doctors, nurses and researchers at Mater can never be fully put into words. I shudder to think what the outcome for both George and myself would have been had I been diagnosed just 10 years earlier.
Too many families have experienced the unimaginable alternative because our researchers were still searching for the breakthroughs that saved my life. And even now, I am amongst the lucky ones.
There is still so much more to do to ensure more mothers get to experience the true gift of watching their children grow up. Supporting breast cancer research at Mater brings hope to mums like me.
Zoe – proud mum of George, and grateful cancer survivor.
Please give hope this tax time.
Donate
Two timelines that should never intersect
"Our supporters directly fund research projects that help researchers, like me, spend more time in the lab doing research that benefits Mums, like Zoe."
Dr Jodi Saunus
Senior Research Fellow,
Mater Research
We can beat this together
Breast cancer researcher Dr Jodi Saunus is a Senior Research Fellow at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer. Her work aims to uncover new ways to treat aggressive forms of this disease that don't respond to standard chemotherapy.
She is also focused on pregnancy-associated breast cancer where chemotherapy is currently the only option. Dr Saunus is passionate about developing new therapeutics that give mums-to-be more options.
"The 'holy grail' is to develop more options for women that aren't so toxic and don't have such a huge impact on their life,"
she says.
But the funding environment for that research is incredibly challenging - which is why your support for Mater Foundation is critical.
