THE GREATEST GIFT IS BEING CANCER-FREE!
On her darkest days, Karen’s family gave her the courage to fight
Karen Pazeski-Nikoloski doesn’t want a lot for Christmas. As the hit song goes, there’s just one thing she needs – to be surrounded by those who are dear to her at the most magical time of the year.
“Family has always been my everything,” Karen, 57, tells Woman’s Day.
Now all her festive wishes are about to come true as the mother of Emily, 22, and Jack, 19, prepares to have herself one very merry Christmas with her family after travel restrictions kept them apart.
To add to the merriment, Karen’s also counting down the days until she flies to the UK to visit her elderly mother Joan, 80, and stepfather Bob for the first time in four years.
It’ll be an especially emotional reunion as two years ago, on March 22, 2019, Karen was dealt a devastating blow when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.
“The night my life changed is ingrained in my mind,” says Karen, who lives in Angle Vale, South Australia, with her husband Goran, 48.
“I rolled over in bed and felt a sharp pain in my left breast and discovered a squishy 5cm lump there.”
Initially, British-born Karen admits she wasn’t overly worried – after all, there was no family history of breast cancer and, just three months before, she’d had her routine mammogram, which was all clear. She also religiously did her monthly breast checks. But on a whim, she made an appointment with her local GP.
It was a decision that saved her life. Referred for an ultrasound that same day, Karen was told the shock news a few hours later – she had breast cancer.
At the Royal Adelaide Hospital, biopsy results revealed Karen had triplenegative breast cancer, a hard-to-treat and incredibly aggressive sub-type of breast cancer, and she needed to start chemo immediately.
For two weeks, she underwent tests and scans before telling her family about her shock diagnosis. “I tried to hold it together telling the kids,” says Karen of sharing the news with Jack, who was still living at home, and with Emily – who’d just left home and moved to Queensland to study at the Brisbane Academy of Musical Theatre – over FaceTime.
“They were so positive and inspiring – they gave me strength,” she says.
But the hardest call of all was to her mum in the UK.
“The thought of not seeing Mum again and not growing old with Goran or being around to see my kids conquer their dreams broke my heart,” Karen tells. “It made me determined to
‘My kids were so inspiring – they gave me strength’
get better. I had everything to live for.”
On April 24, Goran held Karen’s hand during her first chemo appointment and he stayed by her side through every unforgiving weekly session for five months.
“The side effects were horrendous,” she recalls. “I had crippling vertigo, lost every hair on my body, and suffered bloating, severe sickness, fatigue, and excruciating muscle and bone pains.”
After chemotherapy, a lumpectomy and surgery to remove her lymph nodes, plus three weeks of radiotherapy, finally the Pazeski-Nikoloskis were blessed with joyous news. Karen was declared cancer-free!
Today, two years on, with six-monthly ultrasounds and annual mammograms, Karen is still in remission and passionate about raising breast cancer awareness.
“It’s so important to be breast aware. If I’d delayed in getting checked when I did, doctors said I wouldn’t have been around for my next mammogram,” she warns.
After all she’s been through, Karen certainly doesn’t take anything for granted now. “This Christmas, we’re looking forward to all being together,” she says excitedly.
And it’s not just the festive season that’s special – Karen cherishes every minute of every day, cuddling her loved ones just that little bit tighter.
But there’s still one cuddle yet to come and it’s the one she needs the most – from her mum.
Early in the new year, Karen will fly to the UK to finally be reunited with Joan.
“There’s going to be tears,” says an emotional Karen. “I’m going to give Mum the tightest of squeezes – after all, we do have four years of hugs to catch up on.”