Coast mum’s desperate fight for survival
JODIE Montagner has spent the last couple of years in an agonising limbo, thinking she had the all clear from doctors one day, just to be told her cancer had returned the next.
The 57-year-old battler, known for her optimism and unwavering generosity, has since set her sights on what could be her last chance of survival.
Danielle Montagner (Dani) who was just eightyears-old when her mother was first diagnosed, endured the heartbreaking journey through her teens and into her late twenties.
But Dani refused to give up on her mum and, with the help of her brother Jordan and her mum’s partner John, she has worked tirelessly to raise the money needed for specialist treatment in Germany.
“A month ago after her last round of immunotherapy, I was sitting with her at the doctors when they told her that instead of getting better, it had spread,” Dani said.
“It was really hard to hear … just heart sinking … we were all crying and feeling helpless.
“With these things you never want it to get to a point where there’s no more options or next steps.”
With about $88k raised through a Gofundme campaign, the support of her family, and two decades of determination and bravery – Jodie has just stepped off the plane in Germany.
“Anyone who knows mum knows she is always quick to give and has the hugest heart, but is stubborn in asking for help,” Dani said.
“She didn’t jump at this idea. However, the financial costs associated with treatment so far and into the future have accumulated an insurmountable amount and with insurance not covering the treatments required … this is our last resort.”
Ms Montagner’s long fight began in 2003 when she was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer.
She had a mastectomy on her left breast and several lymph nodes were removed before she went into remission.
In 2018 a hip fracture revealed new tumours and she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in her bones.
She had radiation to the area, then went to Malaysia to receive additional treatments that combined eastern and western techniques.
After six weeks of extensive treatment, scans revealed the cancer was completely gone.
Then, at the end of 2021, the cancer was detected again after another hip fracture revealed more tumour growth.
She was unable to walk and was hospitalised.
She was put on strong painkillers, had to use a walker and her weight plummeted to just 49kg.
Further targeted radiation began and she started on a new treatment called immunotherapy which cost about $80,000 over six weeks.
Just when the family thought their luck was turning, Ms Montagner caught Covid-19 which caused the cancer to spread to her lungs and skull. She also suffered a spinal fracture.
Friends she met in hospital had told her of the amazing results they had seen after undergoing cancer treatment in Germany, not yet available in Australia.
With the support of her doctor on the Gold Coast, she has settled the German treatment facility and met
her new doctors this week.
John, her partner of more than a decade, flew to Germany for support.
“First thing he (her doctor) wants to do is fix the fracture … he will do an operation to add more bone to add support and stop nerve pain and future damage and pain,” he said.
“Then he will start on all her other cancer tumours.”
The treatment was scheduled over about six weeks.
“She’s really strong and tends to not want to put it on us too much … she tries to deal with it and keep it to herself,” Dani said.
“Now we are forcing her to accept help.
“Even talking about it online was hard. She wanted to deal with it herself … but now she’s feeling so supported and doesn’t feel alone.
“She lives a really healthy
and active life but it still keeps coming back. She just feels helpless and like there’s nothing she can do.”
Dani said she was doing everything in her power for more time with her beloved mother.
“She’s one of my best friends. We have a pretty open relationship … I tell her basically everything and she’s always there for me,” she said.
“We talk every day and I see her every week. She’s always been supportive and shown me unconditional love.
“She’s got quite a lighthearted nature, nothing ever feels too heavy.
“She’s very giving and generous and wants everyone to be happy but she also doesn’t take any s**t and will always stand up for what she believes in.”