IT TAKES A VILLAGE!
Stepping out of the doctor’s office in late June, the first thing Alisha-jane Laney did was call her mum to let her know her fight was over – she was finally cancer-free after a heartbreaking five-year battle.
“When my results came back clear, my GP and I burst into tears,” Alisha-jane tells Woman’s Day. “I called Mum straight away and we celebrated it together. After years of tests and anxiety and surgeries and mental exhaustion, I just don’t have to worry any more.”
Alisha-jane was just 23 when a routine pap smear revealed she was positive for CIN 2 cervical cancer cells.
Suffering from severe endometriosis from the age of 14, Alisha-jane says she attributed her symptoms to her existing illness, and never once thought it could be something more sinister.
Left reeling, she threw herself into researching the deadly disease online where she discovered the Womencan Save The Box campaign, which aims to raise awareness and funds for gynaecological cancers.
“When I found the site it felt like a community of people who understood what I was going through,” says Alisha-jane, who bravely shared her own story on social media to “overwhelming” support.
“I had so many women reach out to me after sharing my journey. It pushed me to create a sisterhood where we can talk about it with each other and it’s not a taboo subject.”
And it was this tight-knit community along with her parents Melissa-jane, 50, and Graham, 56, that she turned to for support while undergoing three painful and invasive operations.
“Each time I’d have to mentally prepare myself for if it didn’t work,” says Alisha-jane, who would travel with her mum from Newcastle, NSW, to Sydney for treatment.
“The constant anxiety waiting for results really affects you mentally... I was a wreck.”
To relieve her anxiety, boost her immunity and heal her body following the gruelling surgeries, Alisha-jane turned to exercise, losing 45kg in the process. Inspired by her transformation, she organised a Save The Box Bootcamp to raise money to fund critical research.
“We had 40 men and women join the two-hour program
– it was amazing,” she recalls proudly.
To date the brave campaigner, now 28, has raised more than $10,000 for Save The Box, and she doesn’t plan on slowing down just yet.
“I feel like it is the least I can do,” says Alisha-jane.
“It shouldn’t be a taboo subject, and we need to reach out and educate each other – knowledge is power.
“I tell all my friends, don’t fear the smear! Five minutes of awkwardness can save your life.”
During Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month, Womencan is asking women to Get Together. Fund Research. Save The Box. To take action go to savethebox.org.au