Thousands raised for Katanya
WITH her infectious laugh and selfless attitude, it’s of no surprise the Toowoomba community has rallied behind Katanya Watherston.
A GoFundMe page for the young Toowoomba woman has raised more than $6000 in a fortnight, as she undergoes treatment for bowel cancer for the second time.
Her husband, Michael Watherston, has been by her side since she was first diagnosed in 2017, shortly after their wedding.
“For around six months she had had really low iron, something the doctors were concerned about,” Mr Watherston said.
“They ordered some routine tests and I dropped her to St Vincent’s and went to work.
“I had a call from my mum at lunchtime that told me to go to the hospital – when I got there, the doctor told us they had found a 6cm tumour in her colon.”
The next day Mrs Watherston underwent surgery at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Toowoomba to have the tumour removed.
After months of chemotherapy, she was given a clean bill of health by her doctors.
“From there, everything seemed to be going peachy,” Mr Watherston said.
“But on Boxing Day last year, she was tanning herself and found a lump below her belly button.”
Scans revealed a further three tumours located in and around the site of her previous surgery.
After much consultation, Mrs Watherston underwent a gruelling 17 hour surgery in Brisbane to remove the tumours on August 25.
A friend of the couple set up a GoFundMe page to help with her recovery.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support and generosity,” Mr Watherston said.
“Kat is such a loving soul, she walks into a room and lights it up – it’s hard to see her go through something like this.”
To donate to Mrs Watherston’s recovery, search Katanya’s Cancer Fight on gofundme.com.