Family by mum’s side in battle
❝ Our whole family has come together to support her and each other.
— Jackie Somerset
SINCE being diagnosed with cervical cancer 18 months ago Tracey Kennedy has undergone four rounds of treatment to try and rid her body of the disease.
And while she is one of the unlucky women to be diagnosed with the cancer, she is lucky to have such a supportive family.
Ms Kennedy was diagnosed with a 1B2SCC tumour in February 2016 and underwent chemotherapy for 12 weeks. She was then given the all clear but later in the year another cancerous tumour was detected and chemotherapy started again.
When it was discovered that chemotherapy was having no effect on the tumour Ms Kennedy decided to begin immunotherapy, which is a treatment that harnesses the power of the body’s immune system to treat cancer.
It costs $4186 every three weeks, but her first bout of treatment was found to shrink the tumour and Ms Kennedy is already onto her second round.
Her partner, three children and grandchildren have been with her every step of the way.
Her daughter Jackie Somerset said the cancer had taken a toll on her mother and family.
“Mum was always such a strong woman but this has really hit her for six. It has had a huge emotional and physical toll on her. It’s hard to see her so sick,” she said.
“Our whole family has come together to support her and each other.”
Ms Somerset shared her family’s story for National Cervical Cancer Awareness Week earlier this month.