Mother dealt double health blow Setback for salon owner

LIFE was turned upside down again for Tracie Nieass when doctors found a tumour on her spine while she was in remission from brain cancer.

The owner of Tracie’s Hair and Beauty was diagnosed with spine cancer four weeks ago after she told doctors she “had a pain in her back”.

Ms Nieass, 43, was originally diagnosed with brain cancer in late 2018 and had a titanium mesh plate and 16 screws placed in her head during brain surgery at the beginning of the year.

She is currently in her third week of chemotherapy at Townsville Hospital and said after she finished the 16 rounds of chemo she would undergo a stem cell transplant.

Doctors hope the aggressive treatment will “knock everything out” but Ms Nieass has been told there is no guarantee the transplant will work and complications could arise in her vulnerable state.

“I will have no immune system so if I get an infection or get sick, it could be quite serious,” Ms Nieass said.

She said her cancer was genetic and fighting the disease was going to be a lifelong battle.

“Unfortunately, because I have this cancer at a young age, I will have to go through this procedure three or four times in my lifetime,” Ms Nieass said.

During the floods in February this year, Ms Nieass converted her salon into a makeshift evacuation centre, missing her first radiation treatment for her brain cancer.

Her hair and beauty salon has been her life for four years and has unfortunately seen a decline in business in recent months due to increased competition.

“Business has really dropped off and we have really noticed it since Fairfield opened,” she said.

“It has unfortunately made Annandale Central a bit of a ghost town.”

The mother of three said it was rare for someone so young to develop recurrent cancer and that her children had struggled with the latest diagnosis.

“They are aware in time things may get a little tougher,” she said.

Ms Nieass said she was trying to look on the bright side of life and refused to “stay at home and not go out”.

She will continue to work until she is physically unable to.

“I’ve been angry, I’ve been sad and I’ve had mixed emotions but I think it has always been in the attitude,” she said.

“I still have got a life to live, I still have work and I still have kids.”