Seven years after her life-saving stem cell transplant, 25-year-old Siobhan Hoy sheds light on the ups and downs of her journey, and how support from people like you gave her hope for a future after blood cancer.
Siobhan’s life would change forever in 2015 when she was just 14. “I was a fit, healthy teenager with a few bad bruises and a couple of bloody noses. A blood test and one phone call later and my life changed completely.”
As a young teenager, Siobhan didn’t know exactly what leukaemia was, nor what it meant. So when she heard the word come out of her dad’s mouth, she wasn’t sure what to think, or how to feel. But she knew it wasn’t good news.
“Dad said ‘it looks like you’ve got leukaemia.’ And I knew that it wasn’t a good word. But at the time, I honestly didn’t know [what it was]. I think the closest thing that I knew about leukaemia was [the movie] ‘My Sister’s Keeper’. Not a good reference point.”
At the time of her diagnosis, Siobhan was living in Lawrence, NSW, a small country town 647km north of Sydney. Because of this, Siobhan and her family were already at an immediate disadvantage.
Limited access to healthcare professionals and services force blood cancer patients from regional Australia to travel long distances for treatment and care. People living in regional areas are 17 times more likely to report geographical and financial barriers to care than people living in metropolitan areas.
Thanks to the support of generous people like you, Siobhan and her family found home-away-from-home accommodation at a Leukaemia Foundation Blood Cancer Centre while she received life-saving treatment, keeping them together when they needed at other most.
Siobhan remains incredibly grateful for this kind of support at such a difficult time in her life.
I was introduced to Maryanne, a Blood Cancer Support Coordinator you help to fund, and we just clicked straight away. There was no shame in what I was telling her. We would talk about all my teenage issues and she would laugh and reassure me through it all.
After 10 months in Brisbane receiving treatment while living at Leukaemia Foundation accommodation , Siobhan experienced that special moment of ringing the bell, signaling the end of treatment.
“I finally moved home from Brisbane after that 10 months, into that school life balance, and then went back to work,” Siobhan remembers.
Everything was going well for Siobhan as she returned to her new life after blood cancer, until she began to feel unwell again.
After running a few tests, Siobhan was once again told by her father that her cancer had returned, and she had to return to Brisbane for further treatment.
Siobhan was then told that she needed a stem cell transplant. Luckily, after having all three of her siblings tested, they were all perfect matches.
“My sister Courtney was my donor,” she remembers. On the 6th of September 2019, Siobhan underwent a stem cell transplant, and soon after she went into remission.
Seven years on, Siobhan remains grateful for the support she received from generous donors like you, and continues to live life on her own terms.
“I try not to limit myself to anything. And I try not to let my health dictate my life,” she says. And importantly, she embraces so much about her blood cancer journey and is thankful for all of the incredible people she’s met along the way – looking to the future with optimism, hope, and plenty of laughter.
I’m not going to pretend that everything’s perfect. Not everything is perfect. But I’m not [going to complain that] I’ve had the worst life. Because I really haven’t. I’ve met some absolutely incredible people through the things that I’ve done. Places that I’ve been. And as terrible as it is, I probably wouldn’t change it. It’s made me the person I am today.
“I am a big believer that laughter is a great medicine. I make lots of jokes about the stuff that I’ve been through. That’s my coping mechanism. Because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.”
By choosing to donate to the Leukaemia Foundation, you’re helping give more Australians facing blood cancer like Siobhan life-changing care at a time when they need it most.
Want to make an even bigger difference in people’s lives? The Giving Cell is our community of regular donors helping fuel lasting change for patients and families.
