MY NIGHTMARE AFTER A MAGICAL SCHOOL FORMAL
The WA student felt like Cinderella – until her world came crashing down just 72 hours later
Twirling on the dance floor in a stunning blue gown and overflowing with joy, beautiful Year 12 student Bec Sampson felt like a fairytale princess as she attended her school formal with her closest friends.
Just a few days later everything changed for this young woman from Mount Lawley in Western Australia.
“The pain was so bad it woke me up, but I kind of brushed it off,” she says.
“I was playing competitive basketball at the time, as well as volleyball, so it wasn’t unusual to wake up sore.”
Bec, who was 17 at the time, tried to downplay the pain and initially refused to even see a doctor – until she began gasping for air and her mum Sallie, 50, took her to hospital, where she was diagnosed with reflux and sent home.
Hours later she was back in hospital, terrified to learn she had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
“When they said it was cancer, I didn’t believe it at first. Then I felt crushed because all my plans went out the window,” says Bec. “My mum broke down in tears and held me in her arms. It was horrible and I was terrified.”
Bec spent the next eight months having intensive chemotherapy and blood transfusions, losing her hair and struggling to eat, but she says not being able to attend school caused her the most heartache.
“I missed out on all the rites of passage during my final year but I kept studying through the treatment so I could graduate with my friends,” she says.
“Walking across the stage to collect my diploma was amazing and
I was so proud of myself for making it there.”
Bec, who is now 23 and in remission, credits charity Canteen with helping her cope with the ordeal by allowing her to meet young people impacted by cancer.
“We support each other and no one feels awkward about sharing how we feel because we all get it,” she says.
“I’m doing really well and now it’s my turn to lend a hand.”
Bec is an ambassador for Canteen Australia. Find out how to help at canteen.org.au
‘I missed out on all the rites of passage during my final year’